Will Jack Grealish stay at Everton when becoming a free agent? ‘Interesting’ decision for Man City-owned forward as he seeks to shake ‘rust’ on Merseyside

That is because his 2025-26 campaign was brought to an abrupt halt when suffering a foot injury against former employers Aston Villa that ultimately required surgery. A brief return to the Etihad Stadium was made, but no entirely clean slate was found under new City boss Enzo Maresca.

With that in mind, a man that broke the British transfer record in 2021 when moving to Manchester for £100 million ($132m) finds himself running down the final 12 months of a lucrative deal.

That agreement will be seen out while turning out for Everton, with David Moyes delighted to have the talented 31-year-old back at his disposal. A spark was rekindled in Grealish prior to his untimely knock last season, with a smile returning to his face.

He became a Treble winner at City, collecting Premier League and Champions League titles, but was widely considered to have been reined in by Pep Guardiola as his creative instincts were dampened by ball retention instructions.

Greater freedom is being afforded to him at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with the Toffees prepared to let the 39-cap winger off his leash. If the 2026-27 season plays out as planned, then full-time terms could be thrashed out at some stage.

Asked if he sees Grealish hanging around for a while, ex-Everton defender Stubbs - who was speaking courtesy of Gambler Media - told GOAL: “I think it's an interesting one, really, if I'm being honest.

“I thought when he came last year, he was excellent. He was really good. In the early part of the season, he was head and shoulders above anybody in terms of his quality. And then he obviously had his injury with his foot and that affected Everton.

“I think this summer was always one of them where Everton were very comfortable with the situation. I think they were very comfortable where they were happy to let this be a very late addition because I think they were speaking to City, I think they were speaking to Jack and it suited Everton not to be paying two months of wages for him when they could have got him at the very end of the window.

“So Jack's come back and I think, if anything, he was probably a little bit behind where David would have wanted him because of his lack of minutes with Man City in pre-season. And then he started to play in the last game or two.

“If I'm being honest, because I love Jack, he's looked a little bit rusty. He's still, I think, finding match sharpness. But I think this break would have done him the world of good. And I do expect, after the international break, we'll start to see more and more of Jack Grealish.”

Grealish has made four appearances for Everton since rejoining their ranks. He is still waiting on his first goal of the 2026-27 campaign, having registered two efforts through 22 games last season.

There had been talk of the West Midlands native leaving English football altogether at one stage, amid links to teams in MLS and the Saudi Pro League, but he clearly still has plenty to offer and the Toffees will hope to be the ones to benefit from that across the coming weeks, months and potentially years.