Jack Grealish: Everton transfer chance is being boosted without needing to play
Jack Grealish hasn’t needed to kick a ball since mid-January to bolster his chances of winning a permanent Everton transfer.
The 30-year-old winger underwent surgery to repair a foot stress fracture in February, ending his 2025-26 season.
Having joined Everton on loan from Manchester City last summer, he’d enjoyed a brilliant first half of the campaign, and looked a player reborn at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
A 39-cap England international, Grealish appeared to have lost his spark at the Etihad Stadium in recent years, but with two goals and six assists from 22 appearances for the Toffees, it definitely returned this term.
As such, Everton head towards the summer transfer window with a big decision to make on whether they try and sign Grealish permanently.
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Everton are missing Jack Grealish in the Premier League run-in
Everton won’t be triggering Grealish’s £50million option included in his loan switch from Man City, with Toffees chiefs understood to deem that figure to be too expensive.
Instead, a figure perhaps in the region of half that would be where Everton might feel comfortable striking a permanent agreement for him this summer.
| Grealish’s 25-26 PL stats | Result |
| Team of the week | 3 |
| Goal contributions | 8 |
| Key passes per game | 2.0 |
| Pass accuracy | 84% |
| Dribble success | 40% |
Grealish hasn’t kicked a ball in anger for Everton since the 1-0 win over Aston Villa on 18 January, with his injury forcing David Moyes to move Iliman Ndiaye from the right over to the left.
In turn, Dwight McNeil has had to step into a larger role on the right side, but the 26-year-old hasn’t taken it, with his most recent goal contribution in all competitions coming in December last year.
Unfortunately for the Toffees, the likes of Tyrique George and Tyler Dibling haven’t been able to step up when called upon either, leaving Moyes seriously short of quality wide options.
So, whilst this of course has been frustrating for everyone connected with Everton, what it has done is show just how valuable having Grealish was, with now just one win from their last five Premier League games.
That should work in Grealish’s favour when it comes to winning a permanent deal at Hill Dickinson Stadium, as Everton’s cutting edge has been significantly less sharp without him in there.
Grealish’s title-race experience would’ve been big for Everton
During his four seasons with Manchester City, Grealish helped Pep Guardiola’s side win three Premier League titles between 2021-22 to 2024-25.
All three of the title wins that Grealish was part of went right down to the wire, and that experience of being in a race where so much is on the line also enabled him to bring that experience to the Everton dressing room.
He knows exactly what it’s like and what it takes to play and win high-pressure games, and with Moyes’ men trying to secure their first foray into European football since 2017, that would be an invaluable trait to be able to field.
As of right now, Everton are set to fall short in their pursuit of continental football, but perhaps if they had Grealish available, he would’ve been the architect behind some big moments that would’ve ensured they got over the line.
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