Everton Secures Jack Grealish on Loan Amid Transfer Deadline Drama
Jack Grealish is heading back to Hill Dickinson Stadium. In the frantic final hours of the transfer window, Everton have moved quickly to secure the 30-year-old from Manchester City on a season-long loan, with a medical booked for Tuesday morning.
This isn’t a nostalgic cameo. It’s a direct response to a major departure.
Ndiaye Exit Pushes Everton Into Action
Iliman Ndiaye is on his way to Manchester City in a deal worth up to $88 million (£65 million), a sale that left David Moyes short of creativity and time. With the clock ticking, Everton went straight to the source of the problem.
Within hours of Ndiaye’s agreement, talks opened with City over Grealish. The logic was simple: replace a star with someone who already knows the club, the manager, and the demands.
Grealish spent last season on loan at Everton, delivering two goals and six assists in 22 appearances before a stress fracture in his foot cut his campaign short in January. Even with the early finish, he made his mark. The crowd bought into him. The feeling was mutual.
Everton never really let the connection fade. They stayed in touch through the summer while Sunderland and Aston Villa circled, sensing an opportunity. Now the deal is agreed in principle, with only the medical and final paperwork standing between Grealish and a second spell on Merseyside as the deadline looms on Tuesday.
A Financial Gamble That Shows Everton’s Intent
The numbers underline how badly Everton want this to work.
They are set to cover around 90% of Grealish’s wages, a huge outlay for a player earning close to $405,000 (£300,000) per week. There is no loan fee attached, but the commitment is clear in the salary alone.
Built into the agreement is an option to buy next summer for $67.5 million (£50 million), just as his City contract runs out. If the move clicks, Everton will have a clear path to keep him.
Grealish joined City from Aston Villa in 2021 for a then-British-record $135 million (£100 million) and collected major trophies under Pep Guardiola. But as City evolved, his minutes shrank. The combination of a huge wage packet and a contract running down made a permanent move difficult for most clubs to touch.
So this second loan to Everton suits everyone. City free up space in the squad and on the wage bill. Grealish gets what he has been missing: regular football and a central role. Everton get a proven Premier League playmaker without an immediate transfer fee.
What Grealish Brings Back to Moyes’ Side
At full tilt, Grealish is a winger who drives at defenders, carries the ball through tight spaces and draws fouls in dangerous areas. He creates chaos where others might recycle possession. That was evident in flashes last season at Everton, where his personality and work rate connected quickly with the fanbase.
The foot injury stalled that momentum, but he has recovered and already featured briefly for City this season. Now he returns to a dressing room and a manager who know exactly how to use him.
He won’t walk into the same forward line he left. Everton have reshaped their attack in these final days, agreeing a deal worth more than $54 million (£40 million) for USMNT striker Folarin Balogun from Monaco, while Beto heads to Fiorentina for $23 million (£17 million).
Grealish will be asked to knit that new-look front line together. To link with Balogun. To win fouls high up the pitch. To give Moyes the kind of control and spark in the final third that Ndiaye’s departure threatened to strip away.
A Loan With a Clear Fork in the Road
Because Grealish is out of contract next summer, this isn’t just a short-term reunion. If the season goes to plan, Everton can turn the loan into a permanent transfer for $64 million (£50 million), locking in a marquee attacking figure just as he hits his thirties.
For now, the priority is simpler: get him through the medical, get the documents signed, and get him back in an Everton shirt before the window slams shut.
City will move on with their refreshed squad. Everton regain a player the supporters already trust. And Grealish walks back into a club where he is not a luxury option, but a central figure with something to prove.
The question now is not whether he is wanted. It’s what he does with a season built entirely around him.
