Everton Step Up Negotiations for Manchester City Attacker

With the Premier League season less than a week away, Everton are looking to strengthen their squad ahead of their opener against Leeds United. 

David Moyes’ side are eyeing up an improvement in their attacking options with talks reportedly advancing with Manchester City to secure a loan move for attacker Jack Grealish. Having been left out of Pep Guardiola’s FIFA Club World Cup squad, the 29 year old has been subject to numerous rumours surrounding a departure from the Etihad Stadium.

Who is Jack Grealish? 

Jack Grealish progressed through Aston Villa’s academy and had his first taste of senior football on loan at Notts County during the 2013-14 season. Upon his return, he made his debut for the Villains in 2014.

The 29 year old made 212 appearances for the West Midlands side, scoring 32 goals, and helped them win promotion back to the Premier League in 2019. After keeping Villa in the Premier League, Grealish moved to Manchester City in a deal that was at the time reportedly the most amount paid for an English player ever.

A trophy-ladened four years at the Etihad Stadium followed which included three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the Champions League. Despite the club’s success, Grealish has not nailed down a starting position at Manchester City.

The 29 year old started his international career with the Republic of Ireland but chose to represent England and has made 39 appearances for the Three Lions, scoring four goals. After falling down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium, Everton are reportedly advancing in talks to secure a loan deal for Grealish.

What could Jack Grealish bring to Everton? 

When looking at arguably his best season for Manchester City it is clear why Everton would be interested in him. During the 2022-23 season, Grealish helped the Citizens win the treble by  reaching 16 goal contributions (five goals and 11 assists) across all competitions. 

The 29 year old could bring a degree of versatility to Everton’s attack. Throughout his career he has often played as a left winger but has the ability to play in an attacking midfield role and drift into space between opposition’s defence and midfield.

An attribute of the Villa academy graduate that would benefit Everton is his ability to create chances. Grealish created an average of 2.18 chances per 90 minutes and won 3.4 fouls per match on average which would allow the Toffees to continue their good record from set pieces having scored 12 goals from them last season.

Adding to this is his quality in 1v1 situations with the ability to retain the ball under pressure. His low centre of gravity helps his dribbling ability and it is evident by his average of 7.07 duels won per 90 minutes and a 61.6% dribble success rate across the 2022-23 season.

Would this be a good move for Everton? 

Everton will be looking to kick-on this coming season with it being their first at the newly built Hill Dickinson Stadium. With this in mind, a move for Jack Grealish could be a good one for all parties involved.

Last season, the Toffees ranked 15th in the Premier League for big chances created with 77 in total at an average of two big chances per 90 minutes. If Moyes’ side want to be challenging further up the table this season then this is something that they will have to improve.

Evertonians’ will likely argue that they have got the defensive solidity to build upon this season having had the fourth best expected goals (xG) conceded record during the 2024-25 season with 46.9 xG. Taking both these into account shows why the Merseyside club are pushing to get the deal for Grealish through.

Would this be a good move for Jack Grealish? 

From Grealish’s point of view, the main reason why this would be a good move is the amount of game time he is getting at Manchester City. During the 2024-25 season, Grealish played 715 minutes for the Citizens with only seven starting berths.

The lack of time on the pitch has significantly affected his output having totalled one goal and one assist across the Premier League season. This has also impacted his chances of getting into the England squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

At the age of 29, Grealish will be looking to flourish and get regular minutes at the highest level of football. Coupling this with Everton’s desire to improve their attacking output would suggest that the reported loan deal for the 29 year old is the logical move for both parties.