Everton

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Everton and Leeds United will both be out to put an end to their respective stuttering home and away records when they face each other at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night (20:00 GMT) in the Premier League.

The Blues have won just one of their last five top-flight fixtures at their new home, while Leeds have a solitary victory from their 11 Premier League games on the road since their promotion.

The fixture also contains a fascinating subplot, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin is set to play against Everton for the first time since his summer exit. Following his switch to Elland Road, he has been one of the standout strikers in the league.

Everton will look to Garner after Grealish blow

Everton continued their excellent away form this season on Sunday as a depleted XI earned a 1-0 win at Aston Villa.

Less than 48 hours later, Everton's enthusiasm was sapped. The club confirmed Jack Grealish has suffered a foot injury, and reports suggest he is set to miss around three months of the campaign.

Given Grealish's creative talents – he ranks fifth in the Premier League for chances created this season – there will be a void for manager David Moyes to fill. Some of the burden could be taken on by Iliman Ndiaye, who is back from the Africa Cup of Nations along with Idrissa Gueye, as well as the potential return of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

But as those players get up to speed, it is likely the absence of Grealish will place more emphasis on James Garner. The former Manchester United man was excellent against Aston Villa and has been Everton's star performer this season.

In addition to the glimpses of attacking class he has showcased lately, Garner has made a massive defensive contribution with the tireless Gueye unavailable. His all-round improvement this year has been substantial and he has been rewarded with a new contract.

Image source, BBC Sport

Calvert-Lewin can offer a painful reminder

With some players and some clubs, things get to a point where a parting of the ways just makes sense. For Everton and Calvert-Lewin last summer, it felt as though that threshold had been reached.

After nine years on Merseyside, the striker walked out on a free transfer. Leeds took a chance given his fitness and form in recent years, and they have been handsomely rewarded.

The change of scenery has revitalised the striker. Already this season, he has nine goals in 20 Premier League matches, which is his best tally since the 16 he scored under Carlo Ancelotti at Everton in 2020–21; Everton forwards Thierno Barry and Beto have only six between them.

It will be intriguing to see who Moyes picks at the back to combat the threat of the club's former number nine, with Michael Keane available after suspension and Jarrad Branthwaite edging closer to full fitness.

Despite their problems at home, Everton have kept more clean sheets than any other Premier League side since the start of November.

Calvert-Lewin, given his newfound confidence, is unlikely to be daunted.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Everton midfielder James Garner hopes to be part of the club "for a long time" after signing a new long-term deal.

The 24-year-old, who joined from Manchester United in September 2022 having been on loan at Nottingham Forest, has signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract to keep him with the Toffees until 2030.

Since his arrival, he has made 109 appearances across all competitions, scoring five goals and providing seven assists.

The former England Under-21 international has become a key player under David Moyes, starting every game so far this campaign, and also tops a number of Premier League rankings including combined tackles, interceptions and key passes.

"I'm really excited to commit my future to Everton," Garner told club media.

"I'm very grateful for all the support and all the love I've had over the past three and a half years, but it's just the start.

"I've seen the progress we've made recently. Now I want to be part of that progress and get us back to where the club deserves to be.

"I feel like I'm now a part of the club and I'm hoping to be a part of it for a long time.

"I've got family members who are all Evertonians, so I know exactly the passion and, like I've just said, what it means to play for such a massive football club like this."

Manager Moyes added: "He is a player who has developed hugely during his time at Everton.

"He's taking on more responsibility and we're now seeing a really important midfielder, with the versatility to play in other positions, as well as someone who is turning into a leader for us.

"He is still only 24 years of age, and we hope he will continue to progress while playing a big part in pushing us forward in the future."

Jack Grealish's loan move has been regarded as a big success by Moyes, Everton fans and the player himself.

Grealish's spell on the sidelines now begs the question of whether he will remain at Everton when the season ends.

Everton are almost certain to want to keep Grealish - and all the indications are that he would like to stay, having spoken in the most glowing terms of his close relationship with Moyes, who was integral to the initial deal.

There will be other factors at play, however, such as Grealish's age, the financial package he would require, plus the fee City would demand.

Everton would not go anywhere near the £50m mentioned for a permanent deal last summer.

Grealish's injury has now added another complication, as Everton are sure to want to wait to see how recovers from this serious setback.

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman told BBC Sport: "It's a huge blow. He's been the marquee signing.

"He's completely bought into Everton as a club. It's been a perfect match for him and David Moyes in terms of what was needed.

"There were questions about whether he would suit Everton - whether he would be the right fit - but he has immersed himself in the environment and seems to have loved it.

"He's been playing with a smile on his face again and he makes Evertonians smile. He's been outstanding and his attitude has been great.

"I'm not looking forward to the next few weeks without him.

"Jack needed somewhere to play football with the fans behind him, get an opportunity to become the hero again, the main man.

"Everton needed a player to come in with a big character to be creative. And Jack's character off the field has been just as important as well as his expressions of character on it."

Osman agrees, though, that there is much to be taken into consideration before any permanent deal is done.

"If there were no financial considerations, it would be a unanimous 'yes' from everyone", he said.

"Everton must ask themselves if, taking cost into consideration, they want to get wrapped up in something long term again that is potentially not financially viable or not in the best interests of the club.

"Any deal would have to leave Everton in a strong position to strengthen elsewhere.

"They couldn't splash the whole wage bill on him because they have other positions to look at. They've been light at times this season.

"Everton have been burned in the market before and are trying to move past that.

"They need to strengthen elsewhere but, if the price is right, it's not even a question."

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking to the media before Monday's Premier League game against Leeds at Hill Dickinson Stadium (kick-off 20:00).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Jack Grealish's stress foot fracture is "a big blow" and Moyes awaits information from a specialist before giving a timescale on his return.

• The injury could impact Everton's transfer strategy: "Getting them is a different story but it will add to our thinking of 'is there anything out there we can consider?'"

• Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jarrad Branthwaite and Charly Alcaraz are all back in training.

• Moyes' jokingly shouted "what kept you from getting back?" at Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye as the Afcon champions returned to Finch Farm on Friday. He hopes that having winners around the team will help.

• A decision will be made on Harrison Armstrong close to the window deadline: "I want to get him games, I don't want him sitting on the bench. If I thought that was going to be happening all the time I'd probably send him back."

• On Dominic Calvert-Lewin: "We look forward to seeing Dom. We just weren't quite able to make things work, whether it was us to keep him or Dom to stay - one or the other. He's certainly got his fitness back and he's scoring goals."

• Moyes says that "things are moving on" with James Garner's contract, and joked that after his man-of-the-match performance against Villa, Moyes told England manager Thomas Tuchel that Garner is actually Scottish.

• He said that he has found January "really difficult" due to the combination of injuries, Afcon departures and red card suspensions. Moyes noted that they've played Wolves and Burnley at a time when they're doing well, which goes some way to explain why they didn't do better against them as expected.

• Since Everton played Leeds on the opening day of the season, Moyes is "pretty pleased" with the progress made, both in terms of stalwarts stepping up and new players making big contributions: "I'm always thinking 'we're only three or four points away from a really, really good position but you could also look at it the other way and say 'you're only three or four points away from being too close at the bottom end'."

Listen to Moyes on BBC Sounds

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Is there a more wholesome sight than one of your players flying into a tackle?

For all the creativity, smart finishing and wonder goals the Premier League can offer, few such joys would be possible were it not for those feisty fellows charging around to win the ball back for the cause.

This season, those in the graphic above top the charts for putting their foot in.

Tottenham's Joao Palhinha was seemingly born in a pair of shinpads and primed to launch in on someone, while Everton's James Garner continues to impress this season in various areas of his game - underlining why talk of an England call-up continues.

Keep an eye out for these men this weekend. Their opponents will almost certainly end up seeing more of them than they'd bargained for.

Image source, Getty Images

If Everton "can get the financials right", then they should try and keep Jack Grealish at the end of the season, says fan Mark Staniford.

The 30-year-old midfielder joined on loan from Manchester City in the summer and initially impressed, but has struggled for form in recent weeks.

Grealish could now be set for a spell on the sidelines after it was confirmed this week he has sustained a foot injury.

"I still think he is a great player. I think he has suffered from the fact we have been missing Iliman Ndiaye and we've been missing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for the last month or so," Staniford told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"When the opposition looks at your team sheet and thinks 'who do we need to keep quiet', well there is three, but then when it's just him, we've not seen much of a threat from Tyler Dibling or Dwight McNeil, then it means all the emphasis is on him.

"He has still been winning free-kicks, still been contributing, still someone you get excited about when he gets the ball that something could happen. I would like to keep him if we can get the financials right.

"I would love him to be around for a bit longer, even if it's only to let some of the younger players learn from him, play with him, and see what a senior pro who has played for England is all about. So I think it would only have a positive influence on the squad.

"The finances have got to be right, though, as there is no real re-sale value on him after a three or four year contract. But equally, it makes it a bit easier to attract other top players if you have Jack Grealish in your squad."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Wayne Rooney has been discussing iconic games in his career on the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show.

On Everton's win over Arsenal in 2002 he said: "Just coming up against Arsenal and players I've watched over the last three, four years, and Henry, and Sol Campbell, Seaman, Vieira.

"So coming into that game, being on the bench, I always remember the two teams lining up in the tunnel and the subs would walk out and the tunnel's really narrow. Just remember walking out and I couldn't believe how big the Arsenal players were. They were huge. Even Henry's big.

"They were massive. So I remember going out and then I think they were 33, 32 games unbeaten. So I was on the bench and then I come on. It was 1-1. I come on with 15 minutes to go or something like that.

"And I got an opportunity. Thomas Gravesen just helped it on. It went high and… I remember Sol Campbell backed off. I took a touch and Sol Campbell backed off and knew straight away, I turned. I don't know if he knew too much about me, to be honest. I'm sure he'd seen clips of me and probably knew I was quite quick.

"But I was still a good distance out. So he backed off. As soon as he backed off, I knew I was going to shoot. I hit it with the right amount of shape on it. It's hit the crossbar and went in. So it was still one of the best feelings I've ever had.

"I wanted to score whilst I was 16, and that was my last game, October the 19th.

"I always remember after the game, we were in the dressing room and at Goodison when everyone stood up, it was all wooden seats in the stadium. You could hear everything in the stands. I remember being in dressing room and all the crowd stayed and singing and all my family were there. It was such a proud moment."

You can listen to The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC Sounds

Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

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Jack Grealish's foot injury could benefit Everton during their "transition season", according to Toffee TV's Peter McPartland.

Everton confirmed that Grealish, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester City, is being assessed, with a return date to be confirmed.

The 30-year-old winger has played a big part in the Blues' season, making eight goal contributions in 20 Premier League appearances.

McPartland says that the team will miss Grealish during his spell on the sidelines.

"It's really disappointing," McPartland told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"Jack's one of our best players.

"Even when he doesn't have a massive influence on a game, he does attract the opposition to him, and he can hold the ball really well, allow the team to get up the pitch - which I think is one of the major reasons that David Moyes wanted him in the team."

Against Leeds on Monday, Everton will be boosted by the return of Afcon champion Iliman Ndiaye.

This - combined with the opportunities for development which arise elsewhere - mean that Grealish's absence has come at a good time, McPartland argues.

"The one thing I would say - and this is why I'm a little bit more positive - if it had happened in October, I'd have been really worried," McPartland said.

"I think now we're in a much better position to cope with it - even though he is such a good player.

"This season, you want to take the benefits.

"I think one of the major benefits of this season could be Harrison Armstrong, Merlin Rohl, Tim Iroegbunam, Tyler Dibbling coming through, Thierno Barry's starting to score goals - they're the positives.

"It's a transition season. And I think this is now where some of these players will step up."

You can listen to the full discussion of Jack Grealish's injury on BBC Sounds

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

From the Premier League's elite to the soggy pitches of Sunday league, injuries are part and parcel of football - but which top-flight teams have been worst affected so far this season?

With help from injury expert Ben Dinnery, of premierinjuries.com,, external BBC Sport has examined which sides have been hit the hardest, the impact injuries can have on under-fire managers - and whether things are always as bad as they seem.

• Read more detail on how clubs have been affected by injuries here

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

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The Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has unanimously voted it was correct that Hwang Hee-Chan was not sent off in the 1-1 draw with Everton earlier this month.

The Wolves forward was booked by referee Tom Kirk in the 76th minute after catching Harrison Armstrong on the calf with a high challenge.

Everton boss David Moyes was also angered that Michael Keane was dismissed for pulling the hair of Tolu Arokodare in the 80th minute. The KMI Panel voted 5-0 in favour of the red card.

Moyes said after the game: "What Michael Keane did was a three-game ban and a sending off, but [the challenge on Armstrong] was a nothing in the game and not recognised either by the VAR or the referee. It sounds like they've got all their things in the wrong places at the moment."

The KMI Panel said that while "the point of contact was high, there was a lack of force and intensity" and that it "supported the referee's call of a yellow card".

It added that Keane's actions were violent conduct and "not a legitimate part of a challenge for the ball".

Jack Grealish was later sent off for a second bookable offence after sarcastically clapping the referee. This was supported 4-1 by the panel.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United and Everton have taken advantage of others' weariness.

Their unheralded wins against Fulham and Aston Villa respectively were huge.

Everton's win just about guarantees them safety from the drop now and I reckon they will pick up a few more wins with Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye heading back from Afcon. ‌

Leeds are edging ever closer to safety too, Daniel Farke knows this was one of the most important wins of the season, even if it wasn't a headline grabber. ‌

His side is now a well-structured Premier League outfit who look like they belong back in the big time instead of just being fleeting visitors.

Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter

Image source, Getty Images

Everton face a nervous wait on the fitness of Jack Grealish after confirming the midfielder has sustained a foot injury.

Grealish is being assessed by the club's medical team and will also be reviewed by a specialist in the coming days.

The 30-year-old, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester City, played 90 minutes in Sunday's 1-0 win at former club Aston Villa.

He has made 22 appearances for David Moyes' side, scoring twice and assisting six times.

Sometimes, in this age of playing through the lines and technical proficiency, there remains a time when you just have to put your foot (or head) through it.

There are those defenders fans (and players) rely on to do just that.

Step forward Joachim Andersen and Virgil van Dijk, who stand in the way of attacks and take no nonsense, sending it away with head, foot or body in the name of getting the job done.

The two top the charts for successful clearances this season, with shoutouts going to a supporting cast of proper defenders.

Everton have enquired about the availability of Sunderland's 25-year-old French striker Wilson Isidor. (Mirror), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Briony Bragg
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Post-match David Moyes bemused there's something about Everton, about resilience, about the club and the supporters, which can make magic moments happen.

Indeed, football is a fickle game. No sooner had the midweek commentary concentrated on a poor run of results and the pressing need to do business in the January transfer window, than Everton go and stop an 11-game winning streak at Villa Park.

With a heavily depleted squad, there are many who would have taken a draw before a ball was kicked. But, to a man, the squad had other ideas.

To the squad and the manager's credit, it is a struggle to find any player who arguably didn't have their best game this season. So, what is it about playing away from home that Everton have nailed? That's 10 away wins since Moyes' return to the club in January 2025, equalled only by league leaders Arsenal.

There's some sort of dogged resilience that seems to take over away from home. Backs against the wall, keeping it tight, holding shape, with a physical threat particularly in the midfield, Everton's away performances epitomise everything a team led by Moyes is meant to be.

Tremendous credit must go to James Garner, who was the obvious player of the match.

And apologies to Preston, but with these performances it doesn't look like Harrison Armstrong will be returning. At the age of 19, his confidence and assuredness is magnificent.

Maybe the weight of expectancy doesn't hit so heavily on the road. Tactically, they are prioritising a solid defensive shape over aggressive, and high-pitch pressing.

They haven't seemed to yet find that natural balance at home between keeping that defensive compactness and the expectation to press on home turf.

The important part really is to learn those lessons from these performances and do it all again at home this time. With Leeds next, it's certainly a game many will look forward to.

Image source, Getty Images

For 52 years, a document sat untouched in a filing cabinet inside a Wirral bungalow - a lucrative offer from Everton to Don Revie that was never signed. Had it been, Leeds United, Everton, and the wider game might have looked very different.

Unsigned: When Don Revie Turned Down Everton tells the story of a true sliding-doors moment. Of power, money and control. Of a gold Mercedes, Greeks bearing gifts, and a "beast from Bolsover" at the height of his influence.

As BBC Radio Leeds' Adam Pope reveals, Everton's offer was extraordinary for its time: a seven-year deal starting in June 1973, a salary of £15,500 per year - worth about £240,000 today - with the potential to double that through bonuses. League titles, FA Cups and European glory all came with substantial financial rewards, alongside first-class travel, a club board house near Goodison Park and full control over team selection, coaching, scouting and medical staff.

Everton statistician and historian Gavin Buckland believes the Goodison Park board were ready to spend big.

"That would have been the top manager's salary," he said. "Revie's name and reputation were absolutely at the peak of the English game. Quite obviously, the best manager in English football at that time."

Yet the deal was never completed.

Why? And what did it mean for Leeds United, Everton, and the balance of power in English football?

This documentary explores the ifs, buts and maybes and the contract that was never signed.

Listen to Unsigned: When Don Revie turned down Everton

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

My mother would often say, before she died last year, that there was something valuable in the home in which she had lived with her husband George.

Was it an heirloom or an antique, I wondered.

George Watts, my stepfather, was chairman and director at Everton while also working for the club's owner John Moores at the Littlewoods Organisation.

He was an astute businessman and dealt with club finances. As a youngster, I can recall legendary forward Bob Latchford coming to the house to discuss contracts.

When George died in 1988, fellow club director and solicitor Keith Tamlin handled his estate. The filing cabinet rammed with club paraphernalia was emptied - except for one key document.

It would remain undisturbed for a further 37 years until last summer, when I went through an experience familiar to many people who have lost a parent - one of painstakingly sifting through decades of paperwork.

• Listen to Unsigned: When Don Revie turned down Everton

There were long-out-of-date policies, receipts, family photographs, work mementos and then, undetected at the back of one of the steel grey drawers, was a brown envelope marked 'Everton: Season Ticket Sales'.

It seemed innocuous enough, with a running total of revenues from a couple of seasons in the 1970s.

But what caught my eye was a schedule of undated flights to Athens from Manchester, accompanied by several copies of a typed contract, one of which was annotated in my stepfather's distinctive, if somewhat indecipherable, handwriting.

Closer inspection revealed an agreement between Everton Football Club and the man who in 12 years had taken Leeds United from Second Division also-rans to winners of every major domestic honour and two Fairs Cups - one Donald Revie of Three Chimneys, Sandmoor Drive, Leeds.

More than half a century after the contract was drawn up I had, quite unwittingly, stumbled upon an exclusive in my childhood family home - one that saw my two worlds collide as a boyhood Everton fan who has covered the Whites on BBC Radio Leeds for 20 years.

Read how Adam discovered the Everton contract Don Revie never signed

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