Will Jack Grealish break Everton Premier League record?

Aston Villa reunion 

Jack Grealish has enjoyed a magnificent start to his Everton career, reigniting his love for the beautiful career after a burdensome 18 months at Manchester City. The Englishman achieved his dream of winning the biggest trophies after his €100m move to the Citizens with three English Premier League titles and Champions League success.

But the freedom and artistry that Grealish demonstrated in abundance at Aston Villa was often stifled under Pep Guardiola’s meticulous tactical approach. The 30-year-old was restricted to fleeting substitute appearances in his final season at City but he has looked reborn during the fledgling stages of his Everton career. Grealish was born to be the main protagonist at a club, rather than a bit-part player and his excellent start under David Moyes could lead to breaking a Premier League record at Everton.

Will Jack Grealish break the Everton assist record?

Grealish’s debut for Everton arrived from the bench during a bleak performance in defeat to Leeds United. Moyes’ men look bereft of ideas at Elland Road but Grealish has been the catalyst for significant improvement over their last two games. The winger has provided four assists across those two games with Everton picking up maximum points. Grealish provided a brace of assists in an impressive 2-0 win over Brighton, before replicating that feat in a five-goal thriller against Wolves.

Grealish’s four assists ensure he’s got double that of any other player in the Premier League this season but he’s also well on course to break the record for Everton. Andy Hinchcliffe’s 12 assists across the 1994/95 season is a record for an Everton player in a single Premier League campaign. Legendary left-back Leighton Baines features regularly on the top ten list, with current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta also present twice. Grealish will face his boyhood club Villa this weekend and Moyes has been blown away by his ability, stating: “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. You know, he's so good.”

Jack Grealish: Aston Villa & Man City records compared

Critics will point to the exorbitant transfer fee that City paid for Grealish and his attacking numbers weren’t impressive with 40 goals and assists across 157 games. In a recent Transfermarkt study, Grealish’s cost per goal contribution of €2.9m was the 8th highest of any player in history. The Englishman was often stifled by Guardiola’s tactics and the writing was on the wall for his Man City career last season as he played just 715 minutes in the Premier League. There’s a narrative that Grealish flopped at Man City after being an incredible success at Aston Villa. And while he was indisputably better as the main man in the Midlands, there’s not a huge disparity between his attacking numbers at both clubs - as illustrated below.