David Moyes gives blunt response to Jack Grealish absence as mystery deepens

Manchester City loanee Jack Grealish was dropped from Everton’s squad on Thursday -Credit:Tony McArdle, Everton FC via Getty Images

David Moyes declined to elaborate on why Jack Grealish was omitted from Everton’s squad for their Thursday game against Newcastle United.

Grealish’s absence was notable during the Carabao Cup tie, with the club announcing he was "unavailable for selection due to a breach of club discipline."

The 31-year-old was not part of the squad that fell 2-0 to Arsenal on Saturday due to illness. It is understood that the on-loan Manchester City winger subsequently skipped a training session between the Premier League fixture and the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie.

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-Credit:Richard Martin-Roberts – CameraSport, CameraSport via Getty Images

Despite the 3-1 victory on Thursday night, Moyes remained tight-lipped on the matter. "I’m not going to give any details and it’s a club decision and I support the decision," the Everton boss said, as per The Mirror. "I don’t want to go into details."

When pressed on whether he felt let down by Grealish, whom he has strongly backed since his loan arrival from City last season, Moyes said: "It is something I don’t want to speak too much about."

The Everton manager was then quizzed on whether Grealish would feature in Monday’s Premier League trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle. "I wouldn’t give any team news away," he replied.

Goals from James Garner, Hayden Hackney and Thierno Barry had Everton comfortably advancing to the next round of the cup before Dan Burn netted a late consolation for the Magpies. Moyes’ post-match comments appeared to allude to the Grealish situation.

"The one thing about Everton is that they have got real good values, all the players stand behind it and accept the values, on the pitch and off the pitch," he said. "I think the players did a good job tonight, it is a small squad but we are doing our best to keep challenging."

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Grealish, who is in the final year of his £300,000-a-week (around $400,000) City contract, is currently serving his second consecutive loan stint with Everton. He has featured in eight games across all competitions this season without contributing a single goal or assist.

During his previous spell, he chipped in with two goals and six assists across 22 outings for the Toffees, and Moyes has recently made his expectations for the winger crystal clear.

"I think Jack knows what I expect now," he said. "We had lots of conversations last year. He knows when he comes here there is an opportunity for him to play and to show what he can do.

"But I also want him to be a senior professional and a role model. We’ve got Tyrique [George] and Tyler [Dibling] and if ever you are looking at somebody for how to play as a wide player, Jack Grealish would certainly be one of them. I think both of them could learn an awful lot from Jack and I want him to become that senior citizen amongst them, somebody who teaches them.

"I think we’ve got a mature Jack Grealish now as well in terms of understanding the game and what is required, being a team player – not that he is an individual but he plays with an individual style."

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.