In the electric hum of Goodison Park—now rebranded as the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton’s gleaming £800 million beacon of ambition—the roar of the crowd hasn’t felt this alive in years. On a crisp August afternoon in 2025, Jack Grealish, the mercurial England winger once hailed as the Premier League’s most dazzling dribbler, stepped into the spotlight he’d been craving. Loaned from Manchester City for the season, the 30-year-old provided two pinpoint assists in a 2-0 dismantling of Brighton & Hove Albion, his crosses carving open the Seagulls’ defense like a hot knife through butter. Iliman Ndiaye nodded home the opener from Grealish’s inviting delivery in the 23rd minute, marking the stadium’s inaugural competitive assist, while James Garner rifled in the second off another Grealish gem eight minutes into the second half. It was a debut statement that silenced doubters, reigniting whispers of a resurgence for a player who’d spent recent seasons on the fringes of Pep Guardiola’s dynasty. But amid the cheers, Grealish dropped a blunt assessment of his Etihad tenure: “It was great.” Four words that spoke volumes—appreciation laced with the subtle sting of what might have been.
Grealish’s journey to this Merseyside moment has been a rollercoaster of highs and heartaches. A boyhood Aston Villa devotee, he burst onto the scene at Villa Park, his silky footwork and fearless one-on-ones terrorizing defenders en route to a £100 million British-record transfer to Manchester City in August 2021. There, he tasted glory: three Premier League titles, a Champions League crown in 2023, and an FA Cup, his lung-busting runs integral to City’s historic Treble. Yet beneath the silverware, frustrations simmered. His debut City campaign yielded three goals and three assists in 26 league games, a modest return for a record fee. Injuries struck hard—a hamstring tear sidelined him early in 2023-24—limiting him to just 10 starts across all competitions. He ended that season with seven yellow cards eclipsing his combined goals and assists (six), a statistic that gnawed at him. “Adapting to the club’s style of play had been much more difficult than I imagined,” Grealish later confessed, despite Guardiola’s assurances that he was fulfilling his role. The arrival of Jeremy Doku’s blistering pace further dimmed his lights, with Grealish featuring in only 40% of City’s minutes last term.
By summer 2025, the writing was on the wall. Guardiola, ever the tactician, made clear Grealish was surplus to requirements, prompting a season-long loan to Everton on August 12. The Toffees, under David Moyes’ steady hand, covered 75% of his £300,000 weekly wages—a bold investment in creativity for a side eyeing mid-table stability after relegation scares. Grealish, who’d voiced heartbreak over missing England’s Euro 2024 squad, saw Merseyside as his redemption arc. “There is only one place I wanted to go,” he declared upon signing, his eyes alight with the fire of unfinished business. Moyes, who knows a thing or two about managing egos from his United days, handed him a start in the home opener against Brighton, Everton’s first competitive fixture at the new stadium. The result? A masterclass. Grealish created three chances, won all three tackles, and orchestrated Everton’s best attacks, his body feints and cutbacks evoking the Villa vintage that once netted 10 assists in 26 games back in 2020-21.
The impact rippled beyond the pitch. Teammate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, another summer arrival, credited Grealish’s vision for unlocking defenses, while Moyes beamed post-match: “He is making a big difference; whether it is his assists, his presence, lots of things.” Grealish’s positioning on the left flank—80% of his City minutes there—fits seamlessly into Moyes’ blueprint, where possession is scarcer than at the Etihad, demanding more defensive bite but granting license to gamble. Against Brighton, he thrived in the chaos, doubled up yet undaunted, his passes behind the line sparking the second goal. Fans, starved of flair, chanted his name like a prodigal son, the blue half of Merseyside embracing a player whose Villa roots make him no stranger to passionate grounds.
That blunt verdict on City—”It was great”—landed like a velvet hammer in a post-match interview, capturing the duality of gratitude and quiet regret. It echoed his broader reflections: the Treble highs, the nightclub warnings alongside Phil Foden in 2021 that tested his resolve, the adaptation struggles that left him “heartbroken” last summer. Yet Grealish insists the fire burns on. “First one, mate,” he grinned, hoisting his inaugural Premier League Player of the Month award just days later, a nod to his blistering start—four assists across three games, including two more in a 3-2 thriller over Wolves. That haul? Twice his output from the previous two City seasons combined. Data backs the buzz: his expected assists (xA) stayed steady in Manchester, hinting at bad luck rather than lost touch. At Everton, with Iliman Ndiaye and Beto feeding off his service, he’s overperforming delightfully, his chance creation zones—cutbacks, crosses, through balls—unleashed in a system that lets him “shake up that canister until it explodes,” as one analyst quipped.
For England boss Thomas Tuchel, watching from afar, it’s a timely reminder. “There’s no doubt I am a big fan of Trent and Jack Grealish,” Tuchel said ahead of the September internationals, defending his snub of the winger from recent call-ups alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold. Grealish’s Everton form—four goals and assists in three outings—gives Tuchel pause, especially with Euro 2028 on the horizon. Teammates like Erling Haaland, his City strike partner, have voiced support: “Jack’s always been class,” Haaland texted post-Brighton, a subtle nudge amid the loan’s early glow.
As September 2025 unfolds, Grealish’s Everton chapter feels like a homecoming. The new stadium’s energy, Moyes’ trust, and a squad hungry for his magic have unlocked the showman once lost in Guardiola’s machine. His blunt City nod? A chapter closed, not with bitterness, but with the clarity of a man reborn. In a league of fleeting fortunes, Grealish is scripting his sequel—one assist at a time. With fixtures against Fulham and Tottenham looming, and whispers of a permanent Toffees deal, the winger’s verdict rings truer than ever: great times behind, greater ones ahead. Everton’s revival? It’s got that Grealish swagger now.
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