Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear believes Jack Grealish's decision to join the Toffees on loan was down to a desire to prove his critics wrong.

Grealish linked up with Everton this summer on a season-long loan switch from Manchester City, having struggled to make an impact for Pep Guardiola's side in recent years.

The England international, who was omitted from Thomas Tuchel's latest Three Lions camp, was limited to just 17 Premier League starts across the last two seasons with City.

But he has made a blistering start to life on Merseyside, registering four assists in four games in the Premier League, more than any other player in 2025-26. 

Since the beginning of last season, only Dwight McNeil (six) has provided more assists for Everton in the Premier League than Grealish, highlighting his immediate impact. 

Only three players have completed more take-ons in the Premier League this season than Grealish and Everton team-mate Iliman Ndiaye (both tied for eight).

And Grealish has also created nine chances from open play in the top flight this term, a total only bettered by Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes (10). 

"It wasn't lost on us, the impact a player like Jack could have in terms of the sentiment around the club, the excitement, ticket sales, shirt sales — all the benefits," Kinnear told Toffee TV.

"But we didn't let that come into the recruitment decision at all. That decision was purely football-based, and we had to be sure we could get the Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, four years ago, and that he was there from a physical and psychological perspective, and that he really wanted to be [at Everton].

"It was a technical decision that had other upsides around it, but the key to that deal was David [Moyes] and his conversation with Jack.

"While I'd asked David to do a little bit of a sell on players, it's not really in his make-up — he tells them they'd have to start on the bench and work their way into the team!

"But it's a great obstacle for new players. The message to Jack was he'd have to come and prove himself.

"Jack had easier options available to him, but he liked the manager's approach and it's part of what he wants to do, which is prove a lot of people wrong."

Meanwhile, Jarrad Branthwaite put pen to paper on a new deal with Everton in July, committing his future to the club until 2030.

Kinnear revealed that several Champions League clubs were interested in the defender, though a potential sale was something he was never going to entertain. 

"It was far from ideal. The level of business we had to do could only be likened to a promoted club," Kinnear added. "It wasn’t without its challenges.

"We were heavily backed by our ownership. There was a lot of interest in Jarrad. He’s the type of player a new ownership could be forgiven for thinking they'd monetise that and reinvest it across the rest of the squad.

"But one of the first meetings, a relatively short one, was with David and I and the ownership, and we impressed upon them Jarrad's importance to the team, and how we wanted to build the team around him.

"And how keeping him, against a lot of Champions League teams that were interested in him, really sent a message of intent to the existing squad and the players we wanted to sign... that Everton were changing direction and the trajectory was upwards.

"When we were having conversations with players like Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] and Jack later in the window, the fact that Jarrad was still part of the squad was really important."