Everton host Manchester United on Monday night with European qualification still very much alive. David Moyes’ side sit eighth in the Premier League table, and former Blues winger Kevin Kilbane believes there is more to come from this group.
Speaking to the Best Betting Bonuses, Kilbane said: “It’s realistic to think Everton could qualify for Europe. I don’t think Everton are well off. I don’t think they’re in top gear right now, or they haven’t been this season. There actually is an improvement to come for them. If that improvement comes in the last part of the season, I don’t see any reason why they can’t do it.”
But beyond the immediate push for Europe, a bigger question looms over the summer: what happens with Jack Grealish?
Kilbane warns against breaking wage structure
Grealish’s loan spell from Manchester City has been a resounding success. He arrived in August, won Premier League Player of the Month in October after four assists in his first two starts, scored a stoppage-time winner against Crystal Palace, and delivered a man of the match performance in Everton’s 1-0 victory at Aston Villa in January.
Then came the setback. Grealish suffered a stress fracture in his left foot during that Villa win and has undergone surgery, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.
Despite the injury, Kilbane has no doubts about the player’s quality or his fit at Everton. “They absolutely want to keep him, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “I’d take him right now because of the impact he’s had on the players, the impact he’s had on David Moyes and the actual club itself, and the supporters have taken to him straight away.”
The issue, as Kilbane sees it, is financial. Grealish is understood to earn substantial wages at Manchester City, and any permanent deal would likely require Everton to break their current pay structure to accommodate him.
“But if you’re breaking the whole wage structure of the club and the team, that can lead to problems down the line as well,” Kilbane warned. “Looking at the last 10 years with Everton, when they’ve broken pay structures and the club’s been in problems, financial difficulties because of it. It’s upset the whole harmony of the dressing room, it’s upset the whole harmony of the club, not just the dressing room, the supporters in general as well.”
The decision may rest with Grealish
Manchester City face their own dilemma. Grealish has 12 months remaining on his contract after this season, and Pep Guardiola’s plans have not featured the 30-year-old prominently. Everton have an option to buy, reportedly in the region of £50m, but that figure looks prohibitive given the club’s financial realities.
Kilbane suggested the solution may need to come from the player himself. “If there’s an agreement that can be in place where Jack could, perhaps, take some sort of pay cut to come, if he’s enjoying his football that much that he wants to, then he would do that. Everton absolutely would.”
The former winger added: “I personally don’t feel as though Everton, where they are right now, are in a position where they actually need to be thinking along those sort of lines. However, because he’s enjoyed it so much and if he wants to continue that, what he’s done in this season, then it’s up to him to try to come to an agreement with Everton, really.”
For now, attention remains on Monday’s visit of Manchester United and the push for Europe. But behind the scenes, the groundwork for one of the summer’s biggest decisions is already being laid. Grealish has found a home at Everton. The question is whether that home can afford to keep him.
