Everton

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Jack Grealish says "there is only one place he wanted to go" after signing for Everton on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

He says talks with Toffees manager David Moyes were decisive in him choosing to move to Hill Dickinson Stadium.

"I'm over the moon to have signed for Everton - it's massive for me, honestly. This is a great club, with great fans," said the England winger.

"As soon as I spoke to the manager, I knew there was only one place that I wanted to go. On social media, I've been flooded with messages from Everton supporters, so there's that side of it as well and that's another reason why I chose Everton.

"I want to say thank you to the fans for all of the messages I've had already. Thank you for all of the love and support. I hope I can repay you now and I'm sure I will."

Everton boss Moyes said: "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.

"We're all looking forward to working with him and providing a platform for him to show the best version of himself."

Grealish will wear the number 18 shirt and says he chose that number so he could emulate two of his favourite players - Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne.

What do you make of the Toffees new number 18? Excited to see what he can do, or concerned he is a bit of a risk?

Get in touch with your views here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

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After agreeing a deal on Monday, Jack Grealish's loan move from Manchester City to Everton is edging closer.

The 29-year-old's signature is a real coup for David Moyes, but will Grealish be more effective on the left or in a central role for the Toffees?

According to Opta, Moyes commonly employed a 4-2-3-1 formation in the Premier League after returning to Goodison Park last season, doing so 11 times in 19 matches and only really deviating when a back three was used instead.

Grealish has predominantly had a left-sided role during his top-flight career, spending 80% of his 5,698 Premier League playing minutes on the left wing at Manchester City.

In the top flight at Aston Villa, he played on the left 64% of the time, and 20% at number 10.

While Grealish is a statement signing sure to excite supporters, it does create an imbalance in Everton's squad, with the search for a right-winger so far unsuccessful.

Iliman Ndiaye played 2,350 minutes on the left wing last term and finished as the club's top scorer, while Dwight McNeil has also been a key performer in that role.

Should Grealish start on the left it may mean Ndiaye, McNeil and summer signing Carlos Alcaraz competing for the number 10 berth - or one playing out of position until a natural right-winger is recruited.

Moyes typically demands hard work off the ball, so if Grealish plays centrally in a position operated by Abdoulaye Doucoure last season, he may be required to do more defending than perhaps suits his natural game.

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Mike Richards
Fan writer

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The new season is somewhat of a brave new dawn for our football club.

Stuck in what seemed to be a never ending cycle of despair, the start of the new Premier League season feels like an opportunity for Everton to begin the journey to becoming competitive once more.

Our move to Hill Dickinson Stadium will hopefully serve as the catalyst for a much more solid season.

The hope is that we can turn our new home into the intimidating fortress Goodison Park once was.

Combined with an increase in the quality of players arriving, there is a belief that a top-10 finish is achievable.

With the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall confirmed and the imminent arrival of Jack Grealish, it's difficult not to get carried away with what can be achieved.

The summer has been a busy one thus far, although somewhat frustrating for both the manager and fans.

With so many departures, David Moyes had wanted more new faces in, much earlier in the transfer window.

The fear is that so much upheaval - combined with late transfer activity and potential teething problems with the ground move – could lead to a sluggish start to the season.

Each of the first three fixtures before the transfer window close are games we'd expect to pick points up in. They simply can't be thrown away as we await further signings.

Personally, I can't help but hope (and believe) that the dark days of recent times will be put firmly behind us.

Somewhat like a phoenix, Everton will rise from the ashes of mismanagement and off-field troubles, to live up to our motto once more.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

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Former Everton captain Izzy Christiansen says Jack Grealish "has a superb opportunity" at Everton, where journalist Rory Smith thinks he may "thrive" as "a main character".

Grealish made just seven starts last season for Manchester City after falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola, but there is widescale optimism that the England international can get his career back on track.

"He has a point to prove, but you can also see that he has maintained a very high level of fitness," said Christiansen on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "To me, that shows he has a lot of intrinsic motivation.

"It didn't work out for him at City but you can't forget what he achieved either in his second year when he helped them win the treble.

"He fell out of favour but he has a superb opportunity now to galvanise his career and under David Moyes' stewardship. I think he can."

Football correspondent for The Observer, Rory Smith added: "I think this is an amazing transfer for everybody. It just works.

"The Premier League is better when you have those maverick talents at clubs who will build teams around them.

"Grealish is a player you want to go and watch. He might not be the most reliable all of the time, but he gets you on the edge of your seat.

"He won't be the difference in every game but there will be matches he will be able to dominate and express himself in.

"There are some players who are their best when they are the star player - even if it means dropping down a level to do so.

"Grealish thrives on being the main character. I am excited to see what he will do in an Everton shirt."

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It's an interesting move because on the face of it, you wouldn't have thought that David Moyes and Jack Grealish were the kind of obvious partnership. Moyes likes to play football in a certain way, he likes payers who work back as well as go forward, and it will be fascinating to see whether or not this works out.

Grealish two years ago was the mainstay of the Manchester City side that won the treble but he's hardly played since then. Moyes is aware of that yet Everton have still pushed this deal through and clearly, if Grealish wants to go to the World Cup in the United States at the end of the season, then he has to start performing at the levels we know he's capable of.

If he does that then you'd assume Everton and Moyes gain from that. But I don't think Moyes will allow Grealish to go and play an expansive style of football and not do any defending.

Everton are interested in Leicester City's 21-year-old Ghana winger Abdul Fatawu after failing with multiple bids for Southampton's England Under-21s winger Tyler Dibling, 19. (Sky Sports), external

Meanwhile, Jack Grealish's loan move from Manchester City to Everton includes a £50m option to buy the 29-year-old England playmaker next summer. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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We asked for your views on whether Everton are ready for the new season after the Toffees completed their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Roma on Saturday.

Here are some of your comments:

Magnus: We are not ready. To me the focus has been wrong and we have not done the business we needed to do. There is only one new first team player in so far that will directly impact the troop. The other signings seem to be very good from the little I have seen but they are not what we currently need. We should have a minimum of three more first team players coming in before the deadline. I think we will but they should in my view have been there before the start of the pre-season. Unfortunately I am afraid we will give a way unnecessary points in the beginning of the season.

Richard: I think Everton are ready. They have a better team this season, although the squad is still a bit thin. I think another experienced signing would help. The bad pre-season never bothers me. Serious stuff starts now.

John: We are nowhere near ready for the season. First of all, we need some signings. Watching O'Brien on the wing was painful. We need a winger (Dibling/Grealish), a right-back, a backup centre half and a midfielder. Secondly, we need to get behind the team at the new stadium. The fans were silent in the second half against Roma. We need to back our players, the coaches and make the stadium intimidating, like Goodison, or else we will get nowhere this season.

Kevin: From memory I can't remember Everton having a great pre-season under Moyes, ever. So, I'm not sure we can gauge how the season will go. Looks like we still need a right back, and potentially a left one too. Forwards were always going to be needed. Are we ready? Probably not, but I do have faith in how we will grow through the season.

Paul: I hope the recruitment team have something up their sleeve because so far they have been very underwhelming. David has asked for players and they've not delivered and the first team are not ready.

Neal: Totally unprepared for the start of the season as I write this. They are probably six or seven bodies short and in that number there needs to be five or six starters. Throwing away a few games at the start is not a good look for the owners and newly formed transfer group. Even if two were signed next week there's a bedding in period so probably the first few games will pass us by. Interesting few weeks ahead.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Jack Grealish has grown more accustomed to sitting on the bench than playing football in recent times so, if his move to Everton is completed, his first task will be to get himself physically and mentally ready to play many more minutes of football than he has for the past two seasons.

Everton were rejuvenated following the appointment of David Moyes in January, climbing up the table to finish 13th, but have struggled to build on that momentum with significant recruitment this summer.

If he arrives, Grealish would be a marquee signing as the Blues count down to their first season at their magnificent new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

England boss Thomas Tuchel has shown with his selections of players such as Marcus Rashford and Kyle Walker that he is not afraid to pick those that are out of favour at their clubs.

That will provide Grealish with hope that the England door has not been fully closed in a World Cup year.

Recapturing his form could well take him across the Atlantic next summer - but if that proves elusive it is likely to bring about more disappointment for him when an England tournament squad is announced.

The ball, therefore, would firmly be in Grealish's court at Everton.

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Everton boss David Moyes was frank after the Merseyside club's pre-season defeat to Roma, acknowledging the team's work is far from finished ahead of the new campaign.

While he praised the promise shown by new signings Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry, Moyes highlighted missed chances and the need for further squad building.

"First half, I thought we were OK but we didn't play well enough in the second half," Moyes said to BBC Radio Merseyside. "We missed a couple of opportunities to get in front; we didn't take them. We have got a lot to do, haven't we?

"I thought Kiernan done well. I thought he gave us some quality, and we could see the difference in his level. Some of the things he did was very good. Really pleased with that part. I thought Thierno Barry had moments as well.

"It's a brilliant football ground, it's a great stadium, and hopefully it gets a chance to see some really good players and teams in the future."

Moyes said he will wait on news of an injury sustained by Vitalii Mykolenko, who left the Roma friendly after 11 minutes, adding: "We'll wait to see what the report says - we've not had chance yet.

"Patterson is getting checked for a hernia and Armstrong picked up a bit of a thigh strain in training."

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England winger Jack Grealish, 29, has agreed to join Everton on loan from Manchester City. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Pre-season is completed and the countdown to the 2025-26 season is on.

It's been a quiet summer at Everton, although the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall this week may have helped David Moyes' mood.

The Blues start the season at Leeds a week on Monday - but do you feel they are ready?

Get in touch

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Everton concluded their pre-season preparations with a 1-0 defeat against Roma in the first full capacity match at the Hill Dickinson stadium.

Matias Soule scored the only goal of the game in the 70th minute in front of more than 50,000 fans at Everton's new home.

Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made his debut for the Blues, while Jarrad Branthwaite returned to action after missing the Premier League summer series in the USA with injury.

The result ensures David Moyes' side secured two draws and four losses from six summer friendlies.

They begin the new Premier League season a week on Monday against newly promoted Leeds United at Elland Road

You have been sharing your stories and photos about why you love Everton.

Here is a final selection of your submissions, but do make sure you scroll down this page to see all the best responses from throughout the week:

Allan: It was fate and history that led me to Everton.

My Mum used to collect silver paper for the blind on match days in the 1930s and her uncle was Dixie Dean's best man. My dad was my hero and when he told me at 2-0 down in the cup final not to be upset and that we would win, a love and belief that Everton were my club began.

That was 14 May 1966.

Many players and managers have come and gone since then but the belief that we the fans could play our part has always remained. Everton is our club.

Colin: In 1951 at Christmas time, my dad took me to his parents house on Dane St, very close to Goodison. He left me with my grandparents while he went for a 'pint' with his old pals in the Winslow.

He had to pass Goodison on his way home with me in his arms but he couldn't resist going into the match that had just kicked off. There I was, one year old in my dad's arms inside a crowded Goodison. The fans made space for us and I've been a Blue ever since.

Aston Villa have rejected an £18m offer from Everton for Scotland midfielder John McGinn, 30, who is also attracting interest from Newcastle. (Sky Sports News), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos about why you fell in love with Everton.

Here is a selection of your submissions:

Michael: I went to Liverpool with my family once when I was about five or six years old. We went to see both stadiums. Liverpool had their side gates open - I could see the pitch glowing green and it looked magical. I asked a groundsman if I could have a quick look in. They answered no, unfortunately. My dreams were shattered.

We walked over Stanley Park to Goodison. They also had their gates open. It looked amazing, the green grass, blue seats and iconic white pillars. Someone by the gate in a yellow hi-vis was on site. I asked once again if I could go in, expecting a no but God loves a trier. He replied with: "Of course, mate, just don't go on the grass!" I remember looking back at my mum as I was walking around and saying: "I want to support Everton, mum! These are nice!"

Some 31 years later and we won't play again at the ground - but the memories will always live on.

Send us your pictures and stories here

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Everton and David Moyes see Jack Grealish as a player who can add to their attacking impetus.

Grealish was a consistent performer at Aston Villa and at Manchester City during his first two seasons, but he has lost his way.

He needs - and his career needs - invigorating.

I have spent time with Moyes over the years and I think he would be the perfect person to get the best out of him.

Grealish needs to be loved and Moyes, in his own way, will show him the support that he craves to get his career back on track.

His talent is undoubted so there is widespread hope he can get back to those levels.

England boss Thomas Tuchel is a huge fan of him and would see him as a starter in his team if playing on a regular basis.

There is less than a year until the World Cup and Grealish will want to be part of that quad so that is added motivation for him.

But there is still work to be done between him and Everton because of how they navigate his reported £300k-a-week wages.

That will be the biggest stumbling block.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Danielle Sarver Coombs

When it comes to our love for a football club, the answer to why we do lies in "both psychological and societal" reasons.

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom Danielle Sarver Coombs spoke about the part that identity and tradition play.

And yet when we are caught up in the emotions of a tough defeat or nerves of an important match, we can often ask why we put ourselves through it.

"There are psychological processes at work and physiological ones in terms of how we respond and engage," Sarver Coombs said.

"An example that I always give is when I take the train to work, I go past Arsenal's stadium and I feel literally nothing other than: 'Oh, that's a big building'. Whereas on a train to Manchester, I went by Villa Park and my heart started pounding. I got all excited and was trying to take pictures out the window.

"I had a visceral reaction to this place. We can't pretend we don't have that sort of physical reaction because we do.

"When someone is talking about a controversial decision and I feel myself getting wound up, even though I intellectually know that I can't control it and that it's just a game, my body doesn't know that.

"My gut doesn't know that and so I have this really emotional response and we can't control that."

A 2023 book titled 'Football on the brain: why minds love sport, external' suggests it comes down to 'an understandable and logical consequence of the human mind's natural inclination to find meaning through beliefs... It's a religion as far as the brain is concerned'.

But it not just about what is going on inside the mind but outside influences too.

"There is a sociological element to it because the community part is such a huge driver and benefit for us," Sarver Coombs explains.

"Sociologically, we are driven to be part of communities. We are driven to find our groups that we can be members of. Sport provides a way to do that - this sense that I was chosen to be part of this community and it's something bigger than I am."

As the game expands, unrest among supporters seems to be increasing, but how does that impact this ingrained love for a club?

"You always go through these cycles when the game is changing," Sarver Coombs said.

"Despite all the changes, the traditions remain so strong and it's such a huge draw that it becomes really hard to actually separate yourself from it. Even if you do, it tends to be a short-term separation. You get sucked back in because something happens.

"People don't want that change, but then we adapt to it and continue moving forward."

Browse this page to see lots of fan stories for how you fell in love with your club.

And check out those from other Premier League teams over here

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Everton remain in negotiations for Southampton winger Tyler Dibling, who is reportedly not taking part in contact training at St Mary's in order to protect himself for any potential move, although the clubs are yet to agree on a fee.

Everton's current record signing is the £45m they paid for Gylfi Sigurdsson in 2017 and they could exceed this figure to secure Dibling's services. Former Saints boss Russell Martin believes he would be worth every penny.

Martin coached James Maddison and Harry Kane in their early careers and he told The Rest is Football podcast, external thatrates Dibling even more highly.

"When I was there I had to play it down a lot and not make things more difficult for him," Martin said, "but he is the most talented player I've ever worked with.

"Seeing him on the training pitch, seeing him live, Tyler has every capability to play for England and at the top level for a very long time.

Martin highlighted Dibling's versatility, noting he can play at eight, 10, as a false nine or on the wing for any new club.

"He's powerful, he's really quick and [uses] both feet. Physically, the stuff I've seen him do at 18 in the Premier League, with people just bouncing him off him and being put on the floor when he dribbles, he has something I've not seen in a British player for some time."