Tottenham chances of Everton win hit as David Moyes confirms new recruit ready for debut

Roberto De Zerbi given one more thing to worry about ahead of matchweek four

David Moyes has confirmed Jack Grealish is ready to make his first start of the Premier League season as Everton visit Tottenham this weekend.

The Manchester City forward rejoined Everton on loan for the second season running on what was otherwise a frustrating Deadline Day for the Toffees, which saw their move for Monaco striker Folarin Balogun fall through at the death.

Grealish was not deemed ready to start when Manchester United visited the Hill Dickinson Stadium last Sunday, but made a smart 25-minute cameo off the bench.

Previewing Saturday’s trip to face Tottenham, Moyes confirmed there is scope for Grealish, now 31, to feature from the off as he looks to find form.

“I think Jack is special – I think he is ready to play, yes,” said Moyes. “I think Jack is probably a boy who needs the football [matches] more than he needs the training sometimes.

“I think game time helps Jack. In ways, that's him still building up to his best but, I've got to say, he's had a good week of training and he's beginning to look ready to start.

Jack Grealish is expected to start for Everton against Tottenham

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“It’s incredibly exciting if he gives us what he gave us at the start of last season. If we get that level from him then we’ll be thrilled.”

The ex-Arsenal midfielder Christian Norgaard, though, remains sidelined for the visit to his former north London rivals, with Moyes not expecting him back until after the upcoming international break.

Everton’s frustrating transfer window left Everton with just 18 senior players in the squad, and while Moyes has admitted he is looking into the free agent market for stopgaps, he backed his side to match Leicester’s success with a similarly thin squad in their historic title-winning campaign.

“I think it is interlinked. I think a small group together, the tightness that can happen, I think I mentioned Leicester City winning the league a few years ago and what it was like, it looked like a small group of players who did that.

“It’s probably less and less likely given the extra amount of Champions League games and international games, which make it necessary to have the extra players in your squad. We’ve not got European football this year, so maybe we can find a way of getting through with what we’ve got at the moment?

“I do think sometimes having a tight group can work. I’m not saying it will and if I had my choice I’d have more numbers obviously, but I certainly wasn’t somebody who needed 24 or 25 outfield players, it wasn’t that I was looking for.

“I’ve tried to work mainly with 21 outfield players, that’s the number I’ve tried to have and sometimes you can maybe have 22, it can be a bit bigger, but around that number would have been my choice.”