Everton have ‘remained in contact’ with Grealish, says CEO Kinnear

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Everton have remained in contact with Jack Grealish as they consider re-signing the Manchester City playmaker.

After falling out of favour under Pep Guardiola, Grealish joined David Moyes’ side on a season-long loan before sustaining a foot injury in January that required surgery to fix. 

Grealish had made 22 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees, registering two goals and six assists in those outings, more than any other Everton player at that time.

Despite only playing 20 games for Everton in the Premier League, Grealish created more chances from open play (36) for the team throughout their entire campaign, while only James Garner (56) created more chances overall than his 38. 

The 30-year-old was a half-time substitute during Man City’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in last week’s Community Shield, and while Everton CEO Angus Kinnear revealed conversations had been had with Grealish, he stopped short of confirming a return to Merseyside in 2026-27. 

“Jack is a player we’ve remained in contact with,” Kinnear told BBC Radio Merseyside.

“It was no secret that he decided to have his rehabilitation done here for the remainder of last season when he didn’t have to do that.

“He’s a player who’s fallen in love with the right shade of blue, but ultimately, he’s a Manchester City player at the moment and we need to respect that.

“The most important thing is he’s back. He had a very serious injury, he’s worked really hard to get back from that.”

Moyes was also asked about the situation regarding Grealish, and when questioned whether anything was moving forward, he said: “No, not at the moment.

“It’s not for me to talk about. Jack is a player at Man City and I don’t think it’s right to talk about players from other clubs.”

Everton begin their Premier League campaign at Hill Dickinson Stadium this Saturday when they take on Pierre Sage’s Crystal Palace. 

This will be Sage’s first game in charge of Palace. The Eagles have had 16 previous managers oversee a Premier League match with the club, although just two of those won their first (D4 L10), the last being Oliver Glasner against Burnley in February 2024 (3-0). 

Palace have seen Maxence Lacroix join Chelsea but have welcomed five new faces at Selhurst Park, the most recent of which being Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake. 

Gozo arrives having made an impressive start for RSL in the MLS this season, registering 10 goal involvements (six goals, four assists) in 16 league appearances so far, earning him a move to the Premier League for a reported £11.1m ($15m) transfer fee. 

“I’m really looking forward to playing in the Premier League with Crystal Palace. It’s the dream of any footballer,” Gozo said. 

“I’m excited by the people and the project they have going on here. I’ve seen a lot of it, and that’s what excites me about this club as well: the success that they’ve had.”

Everton beat off competition from Palace and Nottingham Forest to secure the signing of Hackney, and he could make his Premier League debut for the Toffees here.

In last season’s Championship (including the play-offs), he ranked seventh for possession won (206), joint-fourth for possession won in the final third (33), second for chances created (85), joint-first for open play chances created (64), second for open play expected assists (7.65), and first for successful passes ending in the final third (855).

— Everton (@Everton) July 2, 2026

McNeil is set for a quick reunion with the Toffees, having swapped Everton for Palace this summer in a deal that saw Brennan Johnson go the other way.

He registered 32 goal involvements (15 goals, 17 assists), more than any other player since his Everton debut in 2022, while his 184 chances created were also a team-high in that time.

Everton and Palace have met in the first Premier League game of the season twice before, with the Eagles unbeaten – they won 2-1 in 1997-98 at Goodison Park, while the sides drew 0-0 in 2019-20 at Selhurst Park.

The Toffees have lost their opening game in each of the last four Premier League campaigns – their joint-longest losing run in their first game of a league season.

Everton failed to win any of their final seven Premier League games of 2025-26 (D3 L4). They have never gone eight league games without a win under Moyes, while the Scot himself last went longer without a Premier League win in April 2017 with Sunderland (10 games).

Palace, meanwhile, have won just one of their last 23 Premier League matches against Everton (D10 L12), a 3-1 home win in December 2021. Their last away win at the Toffees was back in 2014-15 under Neil Warnock, a 3-2 victory at Goodison Park (D4 L7 since).

Only Tottenham (63%) and Forest (55%) earned a higher proportion of their Premier League points in 2025-26 away from home than Palace (53% – 24/45). However, the Eagles failed to win any of their last four on the road (D1 L3).

They have also kept a clean sheet in their opening game in five of their last eight Premier League seasons, including in a 0-0 draw with Chelsea in 2025-26. Palace have lost their last five openers when they have conceded, however, since a 3-1 away win at Norwich City in 2015-16.

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