David Moyes heaps praise on Jack Grealish after Player of the Month award: ‘He’s back’ | OneFootball

David Moyes insists Jack Grealish’s Premier League Player of the Month award is “just the start” as the winger continues his revival at Everton.

Grealish picked up the first award of the season after starting his loan spell with the Toffees with a bang, lining up four assists in two starts.

He is already playing with some of his old swagger after seeing his influence drift at Manchester City, but his absence from the England squad during the international break was a reminder that he has more still to do.

And his new manager has full belief in a player who celebrated his 30th birthday this week, ahead of Saturday’s clash against his boyhood club Aston Villa.

“I’m really pleased for him. You’d have to say it’s a big privilege to be given that accolade and I’m pleased for him because everybody knows he’s back again,” said Moyes.

“It’s nothing down to me, it’s down to Jack Grealish. He’s looked after himself and worked incredibly hard.

“He’s come back with the right mindset to produce and he has produced for us. He’s made a big difference. It’s just the start for Jack.”

Grealish has impressed since joining Everton on loan (Nick Potts/PA Wire)

As for his international ambitions, Moyes backs Grealish to take a crack at a field that became even more crowded during their most recent 5-0 win over Serbia.

“I think that is a big motivation for him and he’s put a marker down,” said the Scot.

“I don’t pick the England team and I’m glad I don’t because there’s so many good players. They played really well against Serbia, some really good performances, so Jack needs to keep playing well for us to get ahead of them.”

One attacking player who has strengthened their position with England is Morgan Rogers, who Grealish comes head to head with when he faces his old team at the weekend.

The Villa faithful have not always shown their appreciation to Grealish since he departed for City in 2021, but Moyes senses a lingering affection for a player who was integral in bringing them back to the top flight and fetched a bumper £100 million transfer fee when he left.

“All I can say is, I went to watch Villa play Crystal Palace last Sunday night and there were hundreds of Villa fans who came up to me asking ‘how’s Jack? How’s he doing?’,” Moyes said.

“Everybody loved him as far as I could see. Maybe they tell me different but that was the feeling I got.”

Moyes will make a late call on the availability of Vitaliy Mykolenko, who sat out Ukraine’s recent matches after reporting for duty with a niggle, and Iliman Ndiaye also picked up a knock with Senegal.

Teenager Tyler Dibling could come into consideration for a full debut and Germany Under-21 Merlin Rohl could feature for the first time since arriving from Freiburg.