Explained: Why Jack Grealish can’t play for Everton against Man City
Jack Grealish will have to watch on from the stands as his loan side Everton side take on his parent club Man City in the Premier League this weekend.
Jack Grealish’s £100million move to Man City in 2021 saw him instantly become a key man under Pep Guardiola as they won the treble in 2023, but he became a bit-part player in recent years and so was linked with a move away in the summer.
Football Insider revealed that Grealish was “excited” about a potential move to Everton to play under David Moyes after reports had stated that the Toffees had opened talks over a loan move for the England international winger.
Grealish was soon loaned out to Everton to help reignite his career, and he has started the season excellently on Merseyside with one goal and four assists in seven Premier League games up to now.
The 30-year-old will not be able to play for the Toffees as they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face City on Saturday (18 October), and the reasons why have now been outlined.
What the Premier League’s rules say about playing against a parent club
Grealish will not be able to play against his parent club for his loan side due to the Premier League’s rules on the matter, which came into effect in 2004.
Loan players were always allowed to play against their parent club until Newcastle loanee Lomana LuaLua scored a late equaliser for Portsmouth against the Magpies in Feburary 2004, and the fallout after his goal led to the rules in the Premier League being changed.
Officially, the PL handbook states that “during the period of the temporary transfer… a player shall not play against the transferor club,” and so Moyes will be forced to leave Grealish out of his squad for the first time this season this weekend.
Grealish will be a big miss for Everton
Grealish won the Premier League Player of the Month award for August as he became the 10th player ever to win the award while playing for the Toffees.
He has been a revelation at the Hill Dickinson Stadium so far, and his teammates will be at a massive disadvantage when they have to take on the Citizens without him on the left-wing this weekend.
Moyes recently insisted that he can get even better, saying: “I think there is still room for Jack to continue to improve; we want more assists and goals from him. He’s started very well, he’s probably got the best (Premier League) assists in the country at the moment but we are driving him on to get more.”
In terms of potential replacements for the 30-year-old, the Toffees manager may choose to shift Iliman Ndiaye or Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to the left-wing, or he could hand a start to Tyler Dibling or Dwight McNeil.