Everton eye Man City double as loan rules complicate Grealish return

Everton have stepped up their interest in Rico Lewis, with David Moyes personally pushing for a move that would solve the club’s long-standing right-back problem.

According to TEAMtalk, Man City are open to selling the 21-year-old for around £30m, despite Lewis being contracted at the Etihad until 2030.

Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham have all been linked with Lewis, but Everton are currently seen as the club pushing hardest. His versatility is the appeal — comfortable at right-back, left-back or in a deeper midfield role — and his arrival would let Jake O’Brien return to centre-back after the best part of a season spent filling in out wide.

There’s a complication. Everton also want Jack Grealish back at the Hill Dickinson on a second loan deal later in the window, and Premier League rules block a club from loaning two players from the same club in one transfer window.

That rules out a loan for Lewis if Grealish is coming back on one, meaning Everton’s interest in Lewis would need to become a permanent deal if Moyes wants both players in.

It’s a decision that will shape the rest of Everton’s summer business: sign Lewis permanently and solve right-back for years, or prioritise a short-term reunion with a player Evertonians want back at the Hill Dickinson.

As things stand, Moyes can’t have both without paying full price for one of them — a tension TEAMtalk’s reporting suggests the club are only now beginning to work through.