Everton fans might well have felt jittery heading into their side’s first-ever competitive contest at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, fearful that it wouldn’t feel like home from minute one.
While it will take the hardened Toffees masses some time to get used to their brand-new home, away from feeling comfort in the old-school aesthetic of Goodison Park, David Moyes’ men experienced a dream start to Premier League life on Bramley-Moore Dock by confidently getting the better of Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0.
At the end of the day, it was a determined team effort that saw the jubilant three points be secured, with Jordan Pickford having to come up trumps once more to save a penalty, but the individual heroics of Jack Grealish did steal most of the headlines post-match.
The former Aston Villa ace looked a man reborn with two sublime assists next to his name at the full-time whistle, with Moyes now on the hunt for a late Grealish-style repeat in the dying stages of the busy transfer window.
Everton now in the race for £40m star
The Toffees may well look back on the loan-to-buy deal to pick up Grealish as one of their golden captures of the window, if he can keep this sensational form up over the course of a full season.
This move might also make Everton feel more confident that they can land signings who can transform their fortunes, having already secured the capture of Grealish’s heir apparent, Tyler Dibling, from Southampton.
Moreover, Moyes has even been bold enough to try and raid his old employers, West Ham United, for Tomas Soucek, but a bid has been allegedly turned down. Still, it’s not only the Czech enforcer tickling his fancy from the London Stadium.
Indeed, the Daily Mail Online has now revealed that Everton has emerged as a surprise, late candidate for the signature of Hammers midfielder Lucas Paqueta, with Spurs and Aston Villa also in the hunt for the £40m-rated star.
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Much like Grealish has previously suffered with, Paqueta has had a lot of stormy off-field issues come to light, but if he can move on from his Hammers nightmare and selects Everton as his next club, he might well go down as a remarkable repeat of the exciting Birmingham-born attacker joining Moyes’ camp.
Why Paqueta can be a stunning Grealish repeat
Even when the now 29-year-old Grealish was performing to the peak of his powers at Villa Park – which saw him collect a bumper 32 goals and 43 assists at his boyhood club in total – he was still a figure often filling column inches for some wild reasons.
Therefore, when the goals and assists subsequently dried up at Manchester City, with the £100m talent only mustering up 17 goals and 23 assists on the books of the regular Premier League champions, he had nowhere to hide from rampant criticism.
Thankfully, he looks as if he will be able to repair his fractured playing days under Moyes’ guidance, with Paqueta hopeful he can move on from a number of his own controversies, too, under his old Irons manager.
After all, it’s clear when examining his up-and-down numbers at West Ham, that he must hold a clear affinity to the Scotsman, with all but six of his goal contributions for the club falling under the reign of the seasoned Glaswegian.
Moyes
83
13 + 14
Julen Lopetegui
21
3 + 0
Graham Potter
17
3 + 0
Under Moyes’ influence, the Brazilian would even guide West Ham to a Conference League success, with then teammate Declan Rice lauding the 27-year-old as possessing “mind-boggling” ability.
There were even discussions at the time that he could leave East London behind for a chance at City for £100m, which is coincidentally the same eye-watering amount Grealish – who was also raved about as a “magician” during his celebrated stay at Villa by Ashley Cole – would join Pep Guardiola’s men for.
No such blockbuster move would come to fruition, with Paqueta now more known for his alleged off-field antics, rather than his “maverick” status for the Hammers, as he was previously dubbed by Moyes.
It could well be that Everton is just the place to be this summer if you want to breathe life back into your stagnant playing days, with Paqueta back at full throttle, alongside a reinvigorated Grealish, making the Toffees a dangerous threat to watch this season.