Jack Grealish is running out of chances to make his latest loan spell at Everton a success, with the club hugely frustrated by a disciplinary breach that continues to keep him out of the team.
The player is understood to have missed training without authorisation, and the club are now looking for him to bounce back and prove his professionalism and commitment after the international break.
Everton are not understood to be considering an immediate end to the Manchester City midfielder’s loan, but the 31-year-old is now in the last-chance saloon as he attempts to rebuild his career at Goodison Park.
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The circumstances surrounding Grealish’s recent absence have caused significant annoyance inside the club, with Everton feeling that he has let them down after being given an important opportunity to get his career back on track.
Grealish missed both meetings with Newcastle United, in the Carabao Cup and Premier League, following the breach. Everton have offered little detail about the situation, but boss David Moyes has confirmed his absence was a “club decision” which he supported.
Grealish will be missing for Friday’s meeting with Coventry, extending a difficult spell at a club where he had initially been expected to become an important attacking influence.
When Everton secured his season-long loan from Manchester City, there was genuine optimism about what the move could offer both player and club.
Grealish had been a consistent performer at Aston Villa and during his early years at City, but his career had lost momentum, and he needed a fresh environment.
Moyes was viewed as someone capable of providing that. Everton believed the manager could offer the support and structure to help Grealish rediscover his best form, while the player made the club his preferred destination despite interest from elsewhere.
That opportunity remains available, but the latest episode has complicated the picture considerably. Everton are not preparing to pull the plug on the arrangement, yet patience is no longer something Grealish can take for granted.
The priority now is for him to regain the trust of Moyes and the club, and demonstrate that he is prepared to make the most of the opportunity he was given.