The 30-year-old arrived for a medical on Tuesday morning and is set to slot back into the number 18 shirt he wore last season, with the deal reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic and confirmed by the two clubs before the 11pm deadline.
Everton have not paid a loan fee and, according to reports, will cover 90 per cent of Grealish’s wages. The agreement also carries a £50 million option to buy that Everton can trigger next summer, when Grealish’s Manchester City contract runs out.
“I’m over the moon to have signed for Everton. It’s massive for me, honestly. This is a great club, with great fans,” Grealish told the club’s official channels.
A second season on Merseyside
Grealish spent last season on loan at Everton, playing 22 matches with two goals and six assists on the left flank before a foot injury cut his campaign short in January. It was enough to convince Moyes that a second year was worth chasing right up to the last hour of the window.
Read also: Sooryavanshi's 42-ball fifty topples a Duleep Trophy mark set in 1969
“I think we’re getting him at a good time because he’s experienced, he understands the Premier League, and we’re all fully aware of the levels he’s capable of performing to,” Moyes said in the club’s announcement.
Sunderland made a late loan approach for the forward, but Everton were the only club willing to meet Manchester City’s financial demands on wage coverage and loan structure.
The long fade at the Etihad
Grealish’s departure closes a chapter that began drifting after he was one of Pep Guardiola’s key men in Manchester City’s 2022/23 treble. He gradually slipped down the pecking order in the seasons that followed, and the first loan to Everton last summer confirmed the split.
Guardiola stepped down at the end of last season after a decade in charge, replaced in June by Enzo Maresca. Grealish was given only fleeting minutes under the new head coach, playing 45 minutes of the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and coming off the bench in the 2-1 opening-day win over Bournemouth before being left out of the squad that beat Crystal Palace 4-1 in London, a clear signal his exit was close.
Read also: Moses Itauma speaks out after surprise defeat and stretcher exit
Part of a busy Everton deadline day
The Grealish loan is one strand of the sharpest window Everton have run under Moyes. The club also agreed a deal worth around £40 million to sign United States forward Folarin Balogun from Monaco, adding a first-choice centre-forward alongside the returning England international.
A move to bring Richarlison back from Tottenham was in play but had stalled late in the day, with the Brazilian said to be undecided about a return to his former club.
Read also: Russell yielded to Antonelli at Zandvoort. Mercedes say that call was made before the race started
