ONE of the most high profile moves in the Premier League this summer saw Jack Grealish, the £100 million-man, leave Manchester City to drive 35 miles down the M62 to Liverpool to sign on loan for Everton.
The move saw a player who once upon a time captivated audiences with his direct, fearless performances and supreme technical ability, depart Manchester City, the club at which he was able to win a plethora of honours including three Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League, with a simple mission in mind – to rediscover his love for football.
Everton, the club lucky enough to convince Grealish of their project and secure his signature for the season, are an institution of English football but who, similarly to Grealish, haven’t enjoyed themselves on the football pitch in recent times. A club that has somehow managed to maintain their top-flight status despite suffering multiple points deductions, have consistently lost their top players, been hampered by limited spending in the transfer window, chaos at board level and a succession of managers.
Evertonian’s were unable to see the magical James Rodriguez dazzle in royal blue live in the flesh due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the Colombian playing all of his 23 Premier League matches behind closed doors, but in the form of Grealish, there is a belief amongst supporters that they once again have a world-class attacking talent amongst their ranks, someone that can galvanise the Hill Dickinson faithful and inspire the club to move up the Premier League table.
So far, it’s been a marriage made in heaven.
After five Premier League matches, Grealish currently leads the way in the competition for assists with four, has won the most fouls with 17 and only Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (15) has created more chances than Grealish’s 13.
| Premier League 2025/26 | Assists |
| Grealish, Jack | 4 |
| Kudus, Mohammed | 3 |
| Diouf, El Hadji Malick | 3 |
| João Pedro | 3 |
| Gakpo, Cody | 2 |
| Doku, Jérémy | 2 |
| Semenyo, Antoine | 2 |
| Xhaka, Granit | 2 |
| Mohamed Salah | 2 |
| Reijnders, Tijjani | 2 |
| Iwobi, Alex | 2 |
| Calafiori, Riccardo | 2 |
| Eze, Eberechi | 2 |
To put Grealish’s performances for Everton into context, his four assists in five Premier League matches this term are twice as many as he managed in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons combined for Manchester City (2).
His fantastic start to the season has also culminated him in winning the Premier League Player of the Month award for the very first time in his career, becoming the 10th different Everton player to scoop the award.
| Month | Season | Year | Player |
| February | 1994-95 | 1995 | Duncan Ferguson |
| April | 1995-96 | 1996 | Andrei Kanchelskis |
| April | 1998-99 | 1999 | Kevin Campbell |
| September | 2006-07 | 2006 | Andrew Johnson |
| February | 2008-09 | 2009 | Phil Jagielka |
| April | 2011-12 | 2012 | Nikica Jelavic |
| November | 2012-13 | 2012 | Marouane Fellaini |
| March | 2016-17 | 2017 | Romelu Lukaku |
| September | 2020-21 | 2020 | Dominic Calvert-Lewin |
| August | 2025-26 | 2025 | Jack Grealish |
Whilst the 30-year-old undeniably played a role in Manchester City’s success, particularly in the treble-winning season of 2022/23, it’s fair to say that Grealish is being allowed to play with greater freedom at Everton, able to drive at defenders more and take more risks, with less emphasis on retaining possession and more emphasis on trying to create moments of magic in the final third.
He is currently averaging 4.56 dribble attempts this season per 90 minutes, a huge jump from his 2.6 dribble attempts per 90 in 2023/24 and 2.9 in 2024/25. In fact, he has only bettered his current average of 4.56 once before in the Premier League, averaging 5.36 dribble attempts for Aston Villa in 2015/16.
Operating on the left-hand side, Grealish is making a real difference to the Toffees with his attacking influence. Everton, who have been slow starters in the Premier League in recent seasons, have already picked up more points this season (7) than they managed across their first five matches in the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons combined (5).
| Season | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | GF | GA | Pts |
| 2022-23 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| 2023-24 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| 2024-25 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| 2025-26 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
Due to the extra attention Grealish is receiving from opposition players, with the England international often doubled or even tripled up on over on the left-hand side, it’s allowing other creative players like Iliman Ndiaye, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and James Garner more freedom and time when they do receive the ball.
One of the key reasons for Grealish leaving City was his frustration with his game time at Manchester City and rightly so, he started just seven matches in the Premier League last season. Already this term he has started four matches, just three shy of his tally from last season despite still being in September.
In terms of overall appearances, his five in the Premier League this season are 25% of what he made in the competition last season for Manchester City. At Everton he is back to being the main man, just as he was at Aston Villa, and you feel that, barring any injuries, this season will be his first that sees him make 30+ appearances in the competition for the first time since 2019/20 at Villa.
| Premier League | Season | Games Played | Games Started | Minutes Played |
| Everton | 2025/2026 | 5 | 4 | 376 |
| Manchester City | 2024/2025 | 20 | 7 | 715 |
| Manchester City | 2023/2024 | 20 | 10 | 1003 |
| Manchester City | 2022/2023 | 28 | 23 | 2063 |
| Manchester City | 2021/2022 | 26 | 22 | 1917 |
| Aston Villa | 2020/2021 | 26 | 24 | 2184 |
| Aston Villa | 2019/2020 | 36 | 36 | 3234 |
At Everton, Grealish is starting to feel his love for football again, and the Evertonians are reciprocating that with their love for him. Whether this love affair will stretch beyond the 2025/26 season, we will have to wait and see, but until then, Evertonians will savour every moment of watching this maverick in royal blue.
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