Grealish completes Everton return as Villa miss out

Grealish goes home

Jack Grealish left Everton's academy system for boyhood club Aston Villa years ago and became one of the Premier League's most recognisable attackers before his move to Manchester City. Now he's back at Goodison Park, on loan from Pep Guardiola's side for the full 2026-27 season. BBC Sport confirmed the move as part of a wider reshuffle at Everton that also saw striker Beto head out the door, and saw the club separately agree a deal for Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Lyon.

The hijack that never was

For a few hours on the afternoon of 31 August, this looked like it might not happen at all. GiveMeSport, citing Fabrizio Romano, reported at 19:40 that Aston Villa had made contact in an attempt to hijack the move and take Grealish back to Villa Park instead. It was the kind of late twist deadline day exists for: a boyhood homecoming suddenly in doubt.

It didn't last. By 22:23 the same evening, GiveMeSport was reporting that Everton had already got the deal agreed, and BBC Sport confirmed the move as finalised the following morning at 07:35. By the time most of the country had had breakfast, Everton had already put the paperwork to bed. There's been no BBC corroboration of Villa's involvement in the final outcome, and it's not clear whether the approach was ever more than genuine late interest that arrived too late to matter.

Elite clubs stock up on loan deals

Grealish wasn't the only name on the move. Ethan Nwaneri joined Borussia Dortmund on loan from Arsenal, a switch confirmed by both BBC Sport and ESPN FC, giving the winger regular football in the Bundesliga rather than a fight for minutes at the Emirates. Nick Woltemade left Newcastle United for Juventus on loan, with BBC Sport reporting the Serie A club also brought in Sarr on the same day.

Further north, Sam Johnstone left Wolverhampton Wanderers for Celtic on a loan deal, with Sky Sports reporting the goalkeeper travelling for a medical as the deal came together. Celtic's deadline was a busy one all round, with reported movement on a Chelsea striker and Torino interest in Gvidas Gineitis adding to the noise around Parkhead.

The permanent business

Not everything on deadline day was a loan. Wout Faes completed a permanent move to West Ham United from Leicester City, agreeing a three-year deal according to Sky Sports, giving David Moyes a defender with Premier League experience to build around. Melvin Bard joined Leeds United on loan from Nice, adding cover down the left for a side settling back into the top flight. West Ham also had a separate offer in for Roma's Anass Salah-Eddine, though that one didn't make it over the line by the deadline.