One Toffee bite changes everything: Is Grealish finally back to his old self?

Who remembers Jack Grealish from his time at Aston Villa? Not many people.

Back then, he was a young lad with sagging socks, worn-out boots, and magic in his feet. He was a God in the eyes of the Birmingham side. He was one of them.

However, after eight years at Villa Park, he moved to Man City, and his charm on the pitch began to fade. His first two seasons with the Cityzens were relatively good, but the season before last marked the beginning of his downfall.

The joy he had on the pitch seemed to have vanished, he wasn't having fun playing, his dribbles were slow and apathetic, and his position on the team became seriously questionable. As if that top-notch level - or perhaps Pep Guardiola? - didn't understand Grealish's free spirit, he was like a caged lion, and then the efficiency problems started to pile up.

Between December 2023 and April 2025, the Englishman was scoreless. For 473 days! He even lost a spot in the England national team. At that point, it was clear that he needed a change. Kevin De Bruyne wanted him at Napoli, West Ham were keen on him, but ultimately, he ended up at Everton.

Rise at Villa, flop at City, revive at Everton: Grealish third player to take same road

At first glance, it was a perfect place for him to revive his career and restore his love for football. A place where he could again feel the way he felt for so many years at Aston Villa. A place where no one will constrain him and where he'll be able to get back to his old self, playing under a manager who can understand his needs.

At first glance, it seemed so, and the second glance confirmed it altogether!

In the opening Premier League round, in a 1-0 loss to Leeds, David Moyes gave him only 20 minutes on the pitch, but already a week later, Grealish clocked 90 minutes against Brighton. Epilogue?

A 2-0 win and a brace of assists for Jack! But, most importantly, he seems to be in love with football again. After all, he confirmed it, speaking to beIN Sports after the match.

"For me, I wanted to come here and the main thing was to enjoy football, you know, enjoy playing every day. And I think maybe at times in the last couple of years, I've fallen out of love – not fallen out of love, but just didn't enjoy football as much as I should," he said via Daily Mail.

This is Grealish we all remember and want to watch week after week, because players like him never go out of fashion.