By the time his afternoon came to an end, Jack Grealish’s mouth was open and his eyes were scrunched. He was panting like a marathon runner, every step he took to the sideline told you his legs were screaming in agony.
As he passed David Moyes, though, he got a pat on his back – and then came the smile. The kind of smile, when you have been in Grealish’s company, that immediately endears him to you; it’s full of mischief, it tells you he knows how to enjoy himself and it’s always there when his mood his good.
And how his mood was good on this sodden afternoon. If he was happy, how about the travelling Evertonians? Grealish went to them at the end to give one lucky supporter his shirt and pose for a picture; they responded by almost pulling him into the delirious enclosure.
‘It was a like a UFC chokehold!’ said Grealish, almost flabbergasted that he has taken into their affections so quickly. ‘Bless them, it was unbelievable. What can I say? That’s what it’s about – that’s what you want from fans.’
Another way of looking at it would be to say these fans want a star performer. Grealish might have had a difficult phone call from Thomas Tuchel earlier this week, telling him he’s not required for the latest round of England fixtures, but what about this for a response: no sulking, just sorcery.
Wolves might have been the perfect opponents for Everton, the mistakes they made leaving head coach Vitor Pereira prancing on the sidelines like a malfunctioning jack-in-the-box, but, still, it was an afternoon to watch this particular Jack cause untold damage in the opposition box.
Jack Grealish is enjoying life at his new club so far – and he looks happier than he has done in years
The Englishman has registered four assists in his three starts for the Toffees
Consider this statistic: Grealish, over 40 Premier League games in his last two seasons for Manchester City, contributed two assists for Pep Guardiola’s side. In his last two games for Everton, his tally of assists now stands at four and he was instrumental in another goal, too.
This, potentially, is a magical signing for Everton. Guardiola’s status as a revolutionary coach and an improver of footballers is beyond question but there were points during this 3-2 win when you watched Grealish playing instinctively and doubted whether he would have done the same at City.
Perhaps Moyes is simply a better fit, more attuned to what Grealish needs to thrive. He’ll challenge the 29-year-old in a different way, ask new questions and won’t accept being shortchanged, but it might be the environment and dressing room dynamic he’s fostered suits the £100million man better.
‘It’s nothing to do with me, let me tell you,’ Moyes protested. ‘It’s all to do with Jack and his own mentality to be better and, I use the word, he has a wee bit to prove, I’m sure. I think we all have. I think in life you’ve always got to keep proving something. It’s something you have to strive to do.’
Grealish was a quarterback operating from the left flank, giving and go, launching the passes that kept cutting Wolves asunder. A header across the six-yard box enabled Beto to open the scoring; a perfectly-weighted nudge enabled the excellent Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to smash the winner.
If this carries on – and some, of course, will be sceptical this romance will fizzle out after the honeymoon – Tuchel will be calling him again in a month, only this time it will be to explain there is a place waiting for him.
‘Jack wants to show that he’s a good player,’ said Moyes. ‘He’s showing it at the moment. Some of his football has been really good. The biggest compliment I could probably give him is he’s better than I thought he was. He’s so good now.’
As are Everton. This was the kind of fixture not too long that would have been greeted with shudders of apprehension but they really should have turned Wolves to woodchip – the goals Hee-Chan Hwang and Rodrigo Gomes scored masked the difference in quality between the sides.
David Moyes described the former Aston Villa midfielder as ‘better than I thought he was’ after the Wolves game
A header across the goal-face from Grealish set up Beto for the day’s opening goal at Molineux
The next stage of Grealish’s return to form will be to get himself on the scoresheet
There will be bumps on the road at points as Moyes seeks to make improvements but, crucially, they are heading in the right direction again and the potential of his midfield trident – Iliam Ndiaye, scorer of Everton’s second, with Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall – is vast.
‘We won’t get it always right,’ Moyes said. ‘But I think what Jack gives is something just on the edge, which hopefully it’s on the edge of creativeness – and maybe scoring goals, too.’
Be sure that Moyes will be in Grealish’s ear to get on the scoresheet himself and that will be the next stage of his development. For now, however, “the edge” is an appropriate term: it’s the part of the seats Evertonians will be use each time this magician gets the ball.
