Jack Grealish Returns to Everton on Loan from Manchester City
Everton drag Jack Grealish back to Hill Dickinson Stadium as the clock ticks down on the transfer window, and it feels less like a gamble and more like a reunion they’ve been plotting for months.
The deal is a season-long loan from Manchester City, with a medical booked for Tuesday morning. If everything goes as expected, the 30-year-old will be back in blue before the deadline shuts.
Ndiaye out, Grealish in
This move starts with a different name. Iliman Ndiaye is heading to Manchester City in a transfer worth up to $88 million (£65 million), a sale that ripped a key piece out of David Moyes’ attack and left Everton scrambling.
They didn’t look far for a solution. As soon as Ndiaye’s exit gathered pace, Everton went straight back to the club taking him away and opened talks for Grealish within hours.
Moyes knows exactly what he’s getting. Grealish spent last season on loan with the Toffees, delivering two goals and six assists in 22 appearances before a stress fracture in his foot cut him down in January. His season ended early, but his impact didn’t. He played with edge, carried the ball with purpose, and built a genuine bond with the stands. By the time he left, he was a crowd favourite.
That connection never really cooled. Everton kept in touch with him through the summer, even as Sunderland and Aston Villa circled and weighed up their own moves. Now an agreement is in place in principle, with only the medical and paperwork standing between him and a second spell on Merseyside.
A financial swing that shows intent
This is not a cheap nostalgia play. It’s a statement.
Everton are set to cover around 90% of Grealish’s wages. That’s a huge chunk when he earns close to $405,000 (£300,000) a week. There is no loan fee attached, but the structure still underlines how badly Moyes wants him back.
Built into the agreement is an option to buy next summer for $67.5 million (£50 million), timed for when his Manchester City contract runs out. That figure matches the earlier reporting around a potential $64 million (£50 million) permanent move once his deal expires, and it gives Everton a clear path if this second spell works as both sides hope.
For City, this is a clean piece of squad management. Grealish joined from Aston Villa in 2021 for a then-British-record $135 million (£100 million) and helped stockpile silverware under Pep Guardiola. But as the seasons rolled on, his minutes shrank. With his contract winding down and his wages complicating a permanent sale, a loan that shifts almost all of his salary off their books makes sense.
For Grealish, it’s simpler. He needs to play.
What Everton are getting back
At full tilt, Grealish is a nightmare to defend. He carries the ball aggressively, draws fouls, and forces back lines to bend towards him, opening gaps for everyone else. His first stint at Everton showed he can still dictate games away from the Etihad spotlight.
Supporters warmed to more than just his step-overs. They saw the work rate, the willingness to take hits, the swagger that didn’t feel forced. The stress fracture in his foot was a brutal interruption, but he has recovered and already featured briefly for City this season.
Now he walks back into a dressing room that knows him and a manager who trusts him. That matters. So does the fact that Everton’s attack is being rebuilt around him.
The club have agreed 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). The front line is shifting shape in real time, and Grealish is expected to slot straight into that new-look unit, supplying the runs of Balogun and replacing the creativity Ndiaye was supposed to bring.
A loan with a clear horizon
Because Grealish is out of contract next summer, this doesn’t feel like a short fling. The option to make the move permanent for around $67.5 million (£50 million) sits in the background, ready if the chemistry clicks again.
First, though, he has to clear the medical and get registered before the window slams shut on Tuesday. City will press on with their own evolution. Everton regain a player who lit up their season before injury struck. And Grealish, at 30, gets something he hasn’t had enough of in Manchester: a team built to let him run games, not just decorate them.
If he delivers, this won’t just be a late-window headline. It could be the moment his career takes a decisive turn back towards centre stage.
