Jack Grealish will miss a fourth Everton game in a row when Coventry City visit Hill Dickinson Stadium on Friday night, and David Moyes is keeping the plan for the Man City loanee to himself.
Asked about Grealish in his pre-match press conference at Finch Farm on Thursday, the Everton boss gave a short answer. “Jack is not available. I wouldn’t give you the plan, but we will be working with Jack again soon,” Moyes said.
That leaves the 31-year-old out until after the international break at the earliest, because the Coventry game is Everton’s last before club football pauses for November.
How did Grealish end up missing four games?
It started with illness. Grealish was absent for the Premier League defeat to Arsenal, then missed the Carabao Cup win over Newcastle United for a breach of club discipline. According to the Liverpool Echo, he did not turn up for a scheduled training session, and Moyes backed the club’s decision to punish him.
He was then left out of the travelling party for Monday night’s 1-0 win at St James’ Park, with the club saying this time that he was not match fit. Everton won both Newcastle games without him, and we covered Moyes insisting “of course” Grealish can come back after the second of them.
The club are also understood to be in talks with City, as his parent club, as part of the disciplinary process.
Will Grealish play again before the international break?
No. Moyes ruled him out of the visit of Coventry, who arrive with Frank Lampard in their dugout for his first game against Everton since he left the club in January 2023.
Moyes also stopped short of saying the situation would be sorted during the break. “We’ll see, we just need to wait and see how things go,” he said.
The timing matters for Everton. They are seventh, and a win over the newly promoted Sky Blues would lift them into the top five. Moyes is also nursing Jarrad Branthwaite, who went off with cramp late on at Newcastle, and a late check will decide whether the defender plays.
What it means for Man City
Grealish is in his second season on loan at Everton, having rejoined in September, and he has made just six appearances for them this term, only three of them starts. That is not the platform anyone at City would have wanted for a player whose value and future depend on regular football.
Pundits have weighed in too. Neil Warnock said on talkSPORT: “I think Jack needs David more than David needs Jack at the minute. He should knuckle down now and not look for publicity like this.” Former Aston Villa teammate Alan Hutton, meanwhile, insisted “the ability hasn’t gone away.”
City have other loanees doing exactly what a loan is for, with Claudio Echeverri thriving at Benfica. Grealish, for now, is not one of them.
Can Jack Grealish still save his Everton loan?
We think he can, but the next three weeks are the test. Moyes has not shut the door, and “we will be working with Jack again soon” is the language of a manager who expects him back, not one who has given up on him.
The problem is that Everton have won without him and the squad is earning credit. A player who walks back in after a discipline breach has to win his place, not be handed it. If Grealish uses the break to get fit and keep his head down, there is still a season to play for. If not, January becomes a conversation between Everton and City that nobody at the Etihad will enjoy.
