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Jack Grealish is going back to Goodison's successor. Everton have agreed a season-long loan for the Manchester City winger, with a medical booked and the paperwork expected to clear well before Tuesday's 23:00 BST deadline.
He has done this before, and it half worked. Grealish spent most of last season on Merseyside under an almost identical arrangement, produced two goals and six assists in 20 appearances, then wrecked his foot in January and did not play again.
Why Everton and not Villa
Aston Villa were interested. That is the club he grew up supporting, the club he captained, the club that sold him to City for £100m in August 2021. On paper it is the more romantic move.
He wanted Everton instead. Chief executive Angus Kinnear told BBC Radio Merseyside the club had "remained in contact" with Grealish throughout, which is a polite way of saying they never stopped asking.
At 30, with two substitute appearances to his name this season, the calculation is not complicated. Grealish came off the bench in the Community Shield defeat by Arsenal and again in the opening-day win over Bournemouth. He did not get on the pitch at all in Friday's 4-1 win at Crystal Palace.
Everton are rebuilding the front line in a hurry
The Grealish deal does not sit on its own. Iliman Ndiaye, 26, is expected to complete a £65m move in the opposite direction to Manchester City, which leaves a hole Everton have to fill tonight rather than in January.
They are close to signing Monaco and United States forward Folarin Balogun in a £40m deal. They have also agreed £3m for Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Lyon - the 29-year-old former Arsenal man has five England caps and can play right-back or midfield, which is exactly the sort of signing a squad short on bodies makes on deadline day.
One that has not worked: the attempt to bring Richarlison back from Tottenham has stalled on personal terms.
Outgoings still moving
Nathan Patterson could be gone by the end of the night. Talks are under way with Torino over the 24-year-old Scotland right-back, though nobody has said yet whether it would be a loan or permanent.
And for the second summer in a row, Everton have circled Kenny Tete. The 30-year-old Dutchman's £9.4m move from Fulham appears to hinge on Fulham finding a replacement first, which is the kind of condition that tends to kill deadline-day deals rather than complete them.
Everton host Manchester United on Sunday at 14:00 BST. Whether Grealish is fit enough to feature is another matter - he has 76 minutes of competitive football behind him this season.
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