After months of speculation, Jack Grealish has found himself a new club with Everton. He’ll be staying in the Premier League as he joins David Moyes’ side, who hope to build upon their strong finish to the 2024/25 campaign.
The England winger has completed a season-long loan move to the Toffees, who will have the option to make the move permanent for £50 million upon the season’s conclusion. This will be half the price that Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Grealish in 2021.
Grealish has had a mixed time in Manchester, where his team’s impressive trophy haul hasn’t been reflected in the 29-year-old’s personal goal contributions.
Grealish was one of several forward players that Everton had explored. Earlier in the window, they were heavily linked to Southampton youngster Tyler Dibling, but the two clubs’ evaluations of the player were too far apart.
Moyes isn’t currently content with his summer arrivals and is now looking to bring in yet another winger to finalise his attack.
Moyes and Everton keen on Hutchinson after Grealish
Reports from TEAMtalk have indicated that Omari Hutchinson is Moyes’ ideal new right-winger. The England U21 star could leave Ipswich Town only a year on from his permanent arrival and being hailed as a “fantastic player” by boss Kieran McKenna.
Ipswich are asking for £40 million, which would make Hutchinson the second most expensive player to sign for Everton ever, although he may only hold this position for 12 months if they decide to activate their option to buy Jack Grealish.
Hutchinson shares a lot of characteristics with current Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye and has been compared to the Toffees star by FBref. Both players share similar stats in terms of progressive ball carries and passes, and shots per game.
Ndiaye features in the list of the top ten most used players by Moyes since his return to Everton, so it is not surprising that he is looking to bring in another similar-profile attacker.
So far this season, Ipswich have not included Hutchinson in their match-day squads, and he was also notably absent throughout pre-season. Sometimes, when a player is on the cusp of leaving their club, they’re excluded from the squad so that the team can begin to adjust to life without them, meaning Hutchinson’s absence from Ipswich’s opening fixtures may be a sign of his impending departure.
TEAMtalk also revealed that if Everton can’t sign Hutchinson, they have two alternative players they would consider instead. The first is Tyrique George, who Chelsea are considering loaning out for the season so that he can get first-team minutes. The second player is Leicester City’s Abdul Fatawu; at this stage, it is unclear whether a move for him would be a loan or permanent transfer.
Moyes’ new attack quells pre-season woes
Hutchinson might end up being the final piece in Moyes’ newly forged Everton attack. An attacking trio of Hutchinson off the right and Grealish off the left will be capped off by new striker Thierno Barry, who has joined from Villarreal for £27 million.
This new attack will rectify some of the issues that Moyes’ side faced across pre-season. Everton managed four goals, two draws and zero wins in a pre-season schedule that saw them face sides such as Blackburn Rovers and Accrington Stanley.
A large contributor to these results was an unsettled forward line that often saw players having to be shoehorned into positions they were not comfortable with, like Harrison Armstrong and James Garner being played as wingers rather than midfielders. This new attack will have the new signings to play in their preferred roles and will allow some of the current squad to play where they are most comfortable, hopefully elevating their performances.
