a training ground warrior with time for everyone

Inside Jack Grealish's first month at Everton - a training ground warrior with time for everyone

Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas explores Jack Grealish's first month in Royal Blue, with insight from David Moyes, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carlos Alcaraz and more

Jack Grealish hosted a party on Saturday to celebrate his 30th birthday. He was in a good place according to one of his guests, Wayne Rooney.

He had every reason to be happy. Wearing the Royal Blue number 18 shirt made famous by his close friend, the playmaker has had a special month. Since joining Everton, Grealish has shown signs he may be capable of being the main character in two revival stories - his own and that of a storied club that has known only hardship through recent tough years.

After a first impression of three wins and four assists, Everton supporters have the unfamiliar feeling of having tasted victory before the first international break of a campaign. Meanwhile, the architect of that success has taken the first steps on a pathway that could mean he spends the next interlude away from home and out with Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.

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“Jack’s a really kind-hearted person and I don’t think that comes across as much as it probably should,” Rooney said on his BBC podcast, the Wayne Rooney Show, this week.

“He’s got a big heart, he’s very respectful, and I think not playing at Manchester City, it was very difficult for him; I know it was. But going to Everton, he’s at a club where he’s going to get the time and space to enjoy his football and he’s started very well and hopefully that continues… He is just getting back playing and enjoying his football, that is the main thing for him.”

Rooney was influential in Grealish’s decision to head down the East Lancs to a club entering a new dawn. The pair spoke on the phone as he weighed up his options at the end of a summer spent ostracised from a Man City side that travelled to the USA for the Club World Cup then embarked on a pre-season, both without him.

The England legend was not the only source he turned to for advice. There were calls with one-time international team0mate Jordan Pickford, for a long time the highest profile figure in the Blues dressing room.

The pair chatted as the rumour mill whirled through the summer, partly powered by the Blues' interest in the player Pep Guardiola signed from Aston Villa for £100m.

Earlier this season, the England and Everton number one said: “When I heard the rumour, I sent a couple of messages to him. He asked a couple of questions, what the club is like, what it is like around the place, and I said if you come you will love it. I said the place is brilliant, the lads are great, the staff. People say it is ‘The People’s Club’ and it is a proper home club.”

Another of the club’s major summer signings, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, also stepped in, messaging him: “Get yourself down here, mate.”

Six days after Dewsbury-Hall’s signing was announced, Grealish was down at Finch Farm enjoying his first training session - one undertaken while the world beyond the gates of the training complex clamoured for confirmation his loan deal had been signed off. They need not have worried.

The night before, Grealish had undergone his medical with his new club, a process that rumbled beyond 10pm. He also had a photo shoot at Finch Farm, posing for club photographer Tony McArdle in preparation for an unveiling that would grab headlines - pictures made available by the club including the trademark ‘contract signing’ shots alongside a mixture of playful and brooding stances that will reappear on newspaper pages and website screens for months to come as his role at Everton attracts constant scrutiny.

Aside from training, there was still time the following day for a quiet visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium, a new stage on which he would have the opportunity to dazzle an audience.

He has certainly done that. The Blues' campaign began at Leeds United and, as they so often do on the opening day, they made a good attempt at bursting the optimism that tends to accumulate through pre-season. Injuries and a general failure to match the newly-promoted hosts’ tempo at a raucous Elland Road did not help. Grealish, a second-half substitute, did not possess the magic to turn around that match after a summer without game-time.

Fast forward to the following Sunday and Everton’s new home found a hero capable of matching its splendour.

The Blues rode their luck against Brighton but Grealish was superb, skipping past right back Mats Wieffer with ease in a display that showcased both sides of his game - his attacking verve and his desire to work hard, his tackles around his own box earning thunderous applause from the home fans.

When Grealish picked out Iliman Ndiaye for the first goal of a fresh era, the Liverpool waterfront exploded. His second assist that day was the easiest of his four so far as he laid the ball into the path of James Garner to tee up a goal of the month contender. A star was born, as it was clear as he left the pitch to an ovation from all four stands with minutes to go.

A celebrity among supporters, Grealish has been welcomed as a star in the dressing room too. But, in the same way that his efforts to track back have been appreciated by the fans, his drive in training has impressed new team-mates, some of whom were unsure what to expect through the arrival of a Champions League winner with multiple Premier League triumphs.

“One thing I've noticed is Jack's one of the first in and one of the last out at training every day,” Dewsbury-Hall said in the mixed zone at Wolves last month. "He's always doing the recovery, doing the right things, ice baths, massages, putting himself in the best possible position to perform for the team. And look, he's played three games this week, which is a credit to him. He's kept himself in the right shape.”

The first of those three matches was the win over Brighton. It was followed by an influential display in the Carabao Cup victory over Mansfield Town before a devastating performance at Molineux. Grealish lit up that match, showing composure to nod across goal for Beto to open the scoring and producing a clever dink that allowed Dewsbury-Hall to produce a stunning third.

His link up with the former Chelsea player in the build-up to the second goal - Everton’s only one in the league so far that Grealish is not credited with an assist for - was delightful.

Grealish teased and tormented his opposition in that match, ending it wrapped in the arms of the away end.

After the final whistle, it was Moyes who provided the soundbite that would capture back pages over the rest of the weekend. He told reporters: “I think in life you've always got to keep something you have to strive to do and I think Jack wants to show that he's a good player.

“I think he's showing it at the moment, I think some of his football has been really good. The biggest compliment I can probably give him is he's better than I thought he was. He's so good.”

His achievements on the pitch for Everton have earned him a spot in the shortlist for the Premier League’s player of the month accolade for August. That he has brought the feel-good factor to the pitch for the club has been clear for millions to see.

Behind-the-scenes, though, staff and teammates at the club are brimming with stories of a humble player and person, one who is generous with his time and supportive with his efforts.

He has understood that he arrived at the Blues with a big reputation - he has long been used to the adulation of supporters, from Villa to City to England. Yet everyone who has needed time with him has been greeted with patience. He has given his buy-in to the ideas of his team-mates, coaches and staff creatives who now have a superstar to work with.

The move to bring him to Hill Dickinson Stadium, in a deal that will cost the club around £12m, has also been viewed as a statement of intent and a sign of ambition welcomed by senior players.

Sandwiched by the landmark success to convince Jarrad Branthwaite to commit his future to the club and the beginning of talks over an extension for Pickford, there is growing excitement about what the future could hold.

In a moment of quiet reflection in the Finch Farm cafe, another summer signing, Carlos Alcaraz, summed up the first impressions of his new teammate well, before explaining how this can be a loan deal in which the interests of Grealish and Everton entwine.

He said: “He is a great guy. In the short time he has been here, he has had time for everyone, chatted to everyone and tried to get to know everyone. He is a really good guy.

“We knew he was a good player and I knew that before, because I played against him. We have all seen him on TV. We have seen his quality. I think he can bring a lot to the club as a player.

“Here at Everton, we are a team that likes to play football and put in the hard yards as well, we all run a lot. He is going to buy into all that. We know what he can do in 1v1 situations, he can take two players out with a couple of touches. What I have been really impressed about is that he has been a real warrior in training.

“We want that attitude, we are at a club where we are all in it together. I think we can all help each other. We can help Jack in the same way that he can bring a lot to the party and help the club as well. It is a mutual kind of thing.”

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