David Moyes told to make Jack Grealish 'king of the castle' at Everton as Man City loanee bids to revive stalling career

Grealish, 29, has moved to the Toffees on a season-long loan from Manchester City, with the option to make the deal permanent next summer. The midfielder has chosen to wear the No. 18 shirt - a homage to his two heroes, Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne, who held the same number during their respective spells on Merseyside.

Grealish endured a difficult 2024-25 season at City, making just 20 Premier League appearances and scoring one goal. However his decision to seek pastures new has been praised by Arsenal legend Lee Dixon, who believes Everton is the "perfect" place for Grealish to get his career back on track, provided manager David Moyes gives him the license to do so.

In an interview with 10bet, Dixon said: "I think Everton is the perfect environment for Jack at Everton to get back to his best. Jack is the kind of player that needs the freedom to be the king of the castle, that’s when he’s at his best, like he was at Aston Villa. I believe that's the only way that he's going to be able to play. You've got to give him that freedom.

"If Moyes doesn't use him like that then they've missed a trick. Get him playing centrally with the freedom to go and make things happen."

Grealish became Everton's sixth summer signing following the earlier arrivals of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Charly Alcaraz, Thierno Barry, Mark Travers and Adam Aznou ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Grealish could make his debut when Everton travel to newly-promoted Leeds United in their opening Premier League fixture on Monday. The Blues will then take on Brighton and Hove Albion in their first league match at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium on August 24.