How Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has truly unlocked the best out of Jack Grealish at Everton
Towards the end of last season, it became abundantly clear that Jack Grealish was stalling at Manchester City.
The once exciting and dynamic winger had been stifled by Pep Guardiola’s meticulous system, and it was evident that he needed a fresh start to revitalise his career.
Grealish completed a loan move to Everton in the summer transfer window, and has immediately burst back into life in his new surroundings.
However, his return to form would not have been possible without another one of David Moyes’ brand-new signings, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Dewsbury-Hall is enabling Jack Grealish to shine
Since Grealish’s arrival, Everton have set up in a 4-2-3-1 system, with the Man City loanee on the left wing and Dewsbury-Hall in the number 10 role.
Last season, the Toffees had just four points from their opening six Premier League games, but with their two attacking additions, at the same point this term, they have already doubled their tally.
Either Grealish and Dewsbury Hall, or both, have been directly involved in five out of Everton’s seven league goals so far in 2025-26, which is damning proof of their positive impact since coming in.
In Everton’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Monday (29 September), Dewsbury-Hall’s heatmap shows that he consistently gravitates towards the left-hand side, where Grealish is situated.
Dewsbury-Hall’s presence on the left flank often creates an overload, giving Grealish more space to get on the ball and create chances.
It also allows the former Aston Villa man the freedom to cut inside at will, and roam the area Dewsbury-Hall has vacated in the centre of the park.
The fluidity of the system is exactly what Grealish was missing at Man City, and creates the chaos among the opposition’s defence that he is so good at taking advantage of.
As a result, the England international is already topping the Premier League assist charts with four, as well as making the most key passes per game in the division, with 3.2.
Dewsbury-Hall and Grealish have a telepathic connection
Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall aren’t just occupying similar spaces on the pitch; they are both combining on a consistent basis.
As evidenced by their pass maps against West Ham, both players are constantly looking for each other on the pitch.
The vast majority of Dewsbury-Hall’s passes are short, 10 to 15 yards, and almost all of them are out to Grealish on the left wing.
In a similar vein, if he is not driving at the full-back and taking them on, Grealish is looking back inside for the former Chelsea man.
The duo have directly combined for four goals already this season, and their telepathic connection was put on display during Everton’s 3-2 win over Wolves earlier this month.
For the Toffees’ second goal of the game, Dewsbury-Hall found Grealish on the left-hand side of the box, before receiving an inch-perfect pass through from the winger, allowing him the space to cross for Iliman Ndiaye to tap home.
Later in the same game, Dewsbury-Hall made another darting run between full-back and centre-back, with Grealish on hand once again to supply the through ball, and the midfielder made no mistake with the finish.
David Moyes has let his maverick off the leash
With Dewsbury-Hall constantly directing the play towards Grealish, the England international is getting far more of the ball than he has in recent seasons.
This term, the former Aston Villa man has taken 51.5 touches per game on average in the league, a far cry from the 28.5 and 38.5 touches per game in his last two seasons for Man City.
For Grealish, when his number of touches is up, his overall performance levels rise dramatically.
| Season | Touches per game | Goal Contributions |
| 2024-25 | 28.5 | 2 |
| 2023-24 | 38.5 | 4 |
| 2022-23 | 51.0 | 12 |
| 2021-22 | 49.7 | 6 |
| 2020-21 | 60.8 | 16 |
His best season for Man City came in 2022/23 when he was averaging 51 touches per game, and in his last campaign for Aston Villa, he averaged over 60.
Of course, Grealish still needs to deliver once he has the ball at his feet, but that is a much simpler task for the winger following a new directive from Moyes.
In an interview with his former Aston Villa manager, Tim Sherwood, Grealish spoke about the freedom his new boss had given him (Sky Sports).
He said: “I don’t mean this in an arrogant way but I do like it when managers say, ‘you’re the footballer, go and do what you want to do’.
“That’s what he (Moyes) says to me: ‘When you get the ball, just go and do what you want to do’.”
Moyes has completely subverted the information Grealish is getting, as under Guardiola, the 30-year-old was drilled into a rigid system and stripped of any personality.
Grealish’s best moments in the Premier League came at Aston Villa, in a team where he was the focal point, getting on the ball in every single attack and dictating their style of play.
He is getting back towards his best at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and is very quickly becoming the main man once again.
Everton must take advantage of their Grealish/Dewsbury-Hall duo
For Everton, it is now all about keeping their two best players fit and available.
Dewsbury-Hall will miss this weekend’s game against Crystal Palace after picking up a suspension for reaching the five yellow card threshold.
The midfielder has played every single Premier League minute for Everton up to this point, so it is yet to be seen how they cope without him.
One thing is for certain, though, if the Toffees want to make a real charge towards the European places, they need both Dewsbury-Hall and Grealish fit and firing for the majority of the season.
It has been a long time since there has been such optimism and excitement around the blue half of Merseyside, but with a new attacking partnership, Everton fans have reason to dream again.