David Moyes on Everton's Squad Challenges and Jack Grealish's Return
David Moyes cuts a familiar figure right now: satisfied enough to stay calm, frustrated enough to stay sharp.
The Everton manager is juggling a thin squad, an unbeaten start, a marquee signing stuck in the treatment room and the tantalising prospect of Jack Grealish finally stepping back into the spotlight.
Injury frustration and a missing leader
The biggest irritation is the player Everton still haven’t really seen.
“We are looking forward to gaining his experience, but we haven't even had him on the grass yet,” Moyes admitted, explaining that the club never expected his recovery to drag on this long. The disappointment, he stressed, is shared – “for us and for him” – even if the hope remains that “it won't be too long”.
For a squad already light on numbers, that absence bites. Moyes wanted a core of 21 outfield players. He has 18. At Premier League level, that’s a tightrope.
He knows it, too. Given the choice, he would simply have had “more numbers” to work with this season.
Grealish: more matches, less training
If the injury news has felt like a slow drip, the Grealish situation carries a jolt of electricity.
Jack Grealish, Moyes says, is “a boy who needs football matches more than he needs training”, and that line alone hints at his plans. The playmaker is in contention for his first start since January this weekend, and the manager did little to cool the excitement.
“It will be incredibly exciting to have him in our starting line-up,” Moyes said. “If he gives us what he gave us at the start of last season, we will be thrilled.”
Everton’s attack has functioned without him; with him, Moyes clearly believes it can jump a level.
Small squad, tight bond
The Scot has long favoured tight-knit groups, and he sees a clear link between Everton’s smaller squad and the unity inside the dressing room.
“You only have to look at Leicester City's title-winning squad to see how their small group of players thrived,” he pointed out. The lesson is obvious: fewer faces, stronger bonds.
The trade-off, of course, is the schedule. “It's the amount of games which means you need the extra players,” Moyes said. But with no European football this year, he senses a window of opportunity to “find a way of getting through with what we've got.”
That’s the theory. The reality is that one or two injuries can quickly turn theory into risk.
Unbeaten, but not entirely satisfied
On paper, Everton’s start looks solid. Unbeaten, competitive, hard to beat. Moyes sees the positives – but he’s not dressing it up.
The run is “pleasing in some aspects”, he admitted, before adding that he “would have liked to get another win rather than a draw somewhere along the way.” The standards remain high. He did, though, credit his players for doing “a really good job” in navigating the early weeks.
The message is clear: steady, not spectacular. Not yet.
Searching for one more spark
With the squad stretched, Everton are active in one of the toughest markets to get right: free agents.
Moyes confirmed the club are exploring options, looking for someone who can add depth and quality without a transfer fee. The challenge is obvious to him: “it isn't easy to find a player who could make a difference” at Premier League level from that pool.
He will not sign for the sake of it. Any late addition has to lift the group, not just lengthen the team sheet.
Tottenham test and the looming break
Next up is Tottenham, still without a league goal or a win. That kind of statistic can tempt complacency, but Moyes refuses to look down on anyone in that position.
“It wasn't too long ago that we were in those situations as a club,” he reminded. Everton, he insists, “can only look after ourselves.” They “didn't quite make it over the line there a couple of months ago”, and that memory lingers. “Hopefully we do it this time.”
Just beyond Spurs lies the international break, another complication for a small squad trying to stay intact.
Moyes expects it to be “difficult for everybody to manage”. Some players will rack up heavy minutes, others barely play, and the imbalance always carries a risk. “Injuries could be a problem as well,” he warned. Everton “have got to hope that our boys do play a bit, but maybe not all of the games.”
For now, the equation is simple enough. Keep the unbeaten run alive. Ease Grealish back in. Find one more body if the market allows. And trust that this lean, tight group can carry Everton further than the numbers on the squad list suggest.
