Pep Guardiola longed to see Jack Grealish return to being the player he was when he helped Manchester City sweep to the treble. He waited and waited, and now has finally got his wish, albeit not in the way he would have hoped. Grealish feels like a brand new player away from City on loan at Everton, even more influential than in 2023, a talisman for his new club rather than just one of many stars.
Grealish will be limited to the role of spectator when Everton visit City on Saturday, but he will be fondly welcomed back by the Etihad Stadium faithful, who loved him for his happy persona and the way he revelled in the club's many triumphs. Grealish reached cult hero status when he became the focal point of the debauched treble celebrations, from blasting out music in the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, continuing the party in Ibiza and then taking things to a whole new level during the parade back in Manchester.
For Guardiola, though, Grealish was never quite the same player as in that season, his second after joining in Premier League record, £100 million move from Aston Villa. After curbing his usual sensibilities to suit Guardiola's demands, becoming a ball-hogging tactical chess piece known among team-mates and staff as a 'rest station' as he allowed others to take a breather while he kept possession or drew fouls, City signed Jeremy Doku to compete with Grealish.
Phil Foden, who had been injured or ill for key chunks of the treble season, was another player who competed with Grealish for a place in City's midfield, and his role in the team subsequently faded amid a number of niggling injuries. At the end of a disappointing 2023-24 campaign for Grealish – but a record-breaking, fourth-successive title for City – Guardiola vowed: "He will be back. He’s struggled this season. Jeremy has made an incredible step forward as everyone has seen in the last games, but Jack will be back at the level of last season – I’m pretty sure."
Guardiola was not correct. Having made 10 Premier League starts the previous season and contributed to four goals, Grealish made only seven starts while scoring once and assisting once in the Premier League. Amid increased competition from Savinho and Omar Marmoush, Grealish was an unused substitute in the FA Cup final despite City chasing the game against Crystal Palace.
Halfway through the season, Guardiola admitted that he had effectively given up on Grealish: "Do I want the Jack that won the treble? Yeah I want it, but I try to be honest with myself for that." Grealish, however, is that player once more – he just had to leave City and Guardiola behind to rediscover himself.
Getty Something to prove
When Grealish was looking for a new club in the summer, he had various conversations with David Moyes. The Scot, who has been a Premier League coach for more than two decades, knew exactly how to push Grealish's buttons. Moyes saw a player who had fallen in the estimation of football fans, just as he had done after his nightmarish 10-month spell managing Manchester United immediately after Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.
And just as Moyes emerged from that harrowing time at Old Trafford to win a European trophy with West Ham and oversee an incredible resurgence at Everton, who were in danger of relegation when he returned at the start of 2025, he believed Grealish could turn it around.
"The knowledge that he thinks he’s got a little bit to prove and to stand up," Moyes explained after signing Grealish on loan on the eve of the new season. "I’ve had to do that myself. I’ve had to come back from being knocked down. Sometimes you have to have that resilience to bounce back, to fight back and to show everybody. I just sense Jack is carrying that with him now. I hope it shows through this season because, if it does, then we’ll get a lot of good things from Jack."
AdvertisementGetty Images SportFeeling loved
It did not take long for Everton to get the best out of Grealish. In his first start for the club, he inspired them to a 2-0 win over Brighton in their first-ever competitive game at the brand new Hill Dickinson Stadium, setting up both goals. In that full debut, Grealish equalled the number of goals he had contributed to in his final season with City.
In his next game at Wolves, Grealish provided two more assists in a 3-2 win. No player created more Premier League goals in August, and Grealish was deservedly named the English top-flight's Player of the Month. Just over a month on, Grealish snatched victory over previously unbeaten Crystal Palace by scoring in added time to seal a 2-1 win. It was his first goal for the Toffees, and it was a scrappy one at that, but it also spoke of his desire as he blocked an attempted clearance from Daniel Munoz in the six-yard box to divert the ball in. Grealish had been urging himself to score a late goal in Everton's previous two games, and it proved to be third time lucky.
"It was an unbelievable feeling," he said. "Do you know what’s mad? In the last few games when we’ve been here, we’ve been drawing and I keep saying to myself in the 85th minute: ‘Come on Jack, imagine if you scored now’. I did it against Villa and West Ham and didn’t score, so today I said the same thing again and scored."
Grealish also dedicated his goal to "all the Evertonians who’ve made me so welcome". He added: "The way they've made me feel since I've come here when I see them, not even at the stadium but just around the place, it's so nice. There's no better feeling in life than to feel loved."
Getty Images SportSymbol of 'iconic' stadium
Moyes could see that Grealish needed more care and attention than he was getting at City under Guardiola. "He probably needs a bit of love and attention," he said after the Palace game. "He is making a big difference. Whether it is his assists, his presence, lots of things. So all credit to him. He is playing the minutes he may not have had in recent years. You know, he's so good. What Jack gives us is something just on the edge, which, hopefully it's on the edge of creativeness and maybe scoring goals.
"It's nothing to do with me, let me tell you – it's all to do with Jack and his own mentality to be better," Moyes added. "There's a wee bit to prove, I'm sure – I think we all have. I think in life, you've always got something you have to strive to do. And I think Jack wants to show that he's a good player. I think he's showing it at the moment."
And while the Everton boss hasn't tried to take credit for Grealish's revival, he is clearly doing something right. Grealish seems to fit at Everton much better than he did at City, precisely because he is the main man, just as he was at boyhood club Villa. Only Iliman Ndiaye can come close to him in the the Everton squad in terms of talent, but in terms of status, Grealish is by far and away the most famous player. He is the centre of attention for fans and his shirt has proven to be the biggest selling one at the club shop.
Grealish has become a symbol of the club's spectacular new 52,000 capacity stadium which sits on the River Mersey. "It's incredible, it feels iconic," he said of the new arena. And he is its icon.
Getty 'Warrior in training'
Despite his rock-star status, Grealish does not strut around like he owns the place. His attention to fans looking for photos and autographs has been noted, as indeed it was at City. But his work ethic is also being talked about in a way that it was not necessarily praised in Manchester.
"The thing I’ve noticed is that Jack’s one of the first in and one of the last out every day (at training)," midfielder Kieran Dewsbury-Hall told . "He’s always doing the recovery, ice baths, massages, putting himself in the best possible position to perform. He’s kept himself in the right shape. Everyone knows Jack’s at his best when he’s got a smile on his face, playing confidently. He wants to play every week and show people what he’s about."
Carlos Alcaraz added: "What I have been really impressed about is that he has been a real warrior in training. We want that attitude. We are at a club where we are all in it together. He is a great guy. In the short time he has been here, he has chatted to everyone and tried to get to know everyone."
