England Call for Grealish? Everton Borrowed Star Providing England Manager a Selection Dilemma

Referee the official had barely blown the full-time whistle to confirm the Toffees' last-gasp win over Crystal Palace when the club changed the bio on their social media.

Underneath the team's iconic badge were displayed three words: Grealish for England.

It is almost a year since Jack Grealish last wore a England shirt in a three-one Nations League win over the Finns in Helsinki under caretaker manager the former coach.

And it will be while longer before the 30-year-old gets the opportunity to represent his national team again after being left out from Thomas Tuchel's most recent squad for a friendly against Wales next Thursday, followed by a World Cup qualifier in the Baltic nation on 14 October.

But one thing remains crystal clear: Grealish is doing everything he can to force his way into the manager's plans for next summer's World Cup.

After providing several key passes in his first six top-flight appearances for the Blues, Grealish netted the 93rd-minute winner to secure his side's comeback victory after Dean Henderson had saved Beto from point-blank range.

Recorded at the 92nd minute, it was Everton's most recent home league winning goal since spring 2022 against the Magpies - 98 minutes and 20 seconds.

"Do you know what's mad?" said the star, speaking to broadcasters after the game.

"Our recent matches we've played here we've been drawing and I've thought in the closing stages, 'come on Jack, go and score. Think about scoring a late goal'.

"I said it against Aston Villa, and I failed to find the net. I repeated it against West Ham and I didn't score.

"This time, I really thought the same thing again and I scored. I ran to where my parents were, so it was special."

• Grealish 93rd-minute winner for the Toffees ends Crystal Palace unbeaten run
• 'Exceeding expectations' - Moyes praises unpredictable the attacker after win

'England omission not a big deal'

The weekend's game was Grealish's last for a few weeks - having just managed to string together six successive league starts for the first time in almost 30 months.

He is not allowed to face his parent club City when Everton return to action after the international break on 18 October.

There are 249 days before the start of the global tournament. Is Grealish likely to be included on the national team flight?

"Honestly," he shared with BBC Radio 5 Live after the Crystal Palace game, "it's not as deep as everyone says."

"At the end of the day, you aspire to play for the national team but others are doing well in my position. I'm doing well also, but the people picked previously did really well in the two games so that's fine with me.

"The coach makes the choices and I completely understand that."

Grealish continued: "I'm focused on playing for this club because that's who put their trust in me and had confidence in me, so I'm really enjoying it here."

However, ex-international Wayne Rooney informed the media that Grealish's form for the Merseysiders will be giving the England boss a "headache".

"All Jack can do is continue performing what he is achieving, obviously getting a goal today," commented Rooney, who netted over fifty strikes in 120 appearances for England.

"I believe if he keeps doing that he will be in contention come the tournament.

"Should he feature, his talent will shine through, so I'm sure he'll be giving the England manager a headache."

'Johnny-on-the-spot'

The England manager insists the door remains open for Grealish, who has numerous international appearances and four goals for his country, in terms of the World Cup next season.

"There is always a way back into the camp," the national team coach said on Friday.

"Jack knows that I see how impactful he is for Everton and that he is on his way to be the top form of himself."

During his seven Premier League games since arriving on a season-long loan from Manchester City, he has played 556 minutes, had multiple contributions, set up 17 chances and had 10 shots.

"Jack's done great again," remarked manager the coach after his team's first win since late August.

"I have been urging him to score more. He is Johnny-on-the-spot.

"Iliman Ndiaye's cross was fantastic and the forward should have buried it. But Grealish is in and around to score the goal."

Moyes disclosed Grealish had missed training during the week because of a slight issue, adding: "He's needed to miss the odd day of training but he is doing a lot of good things."

Grealish was not the sole individual excluded from the manager's national squad who succeeded to score this round of fixtures.

The forward scored once more for the Spanish giants - although they were beaten 4-1 at their opponents - while the midfielder got a goal in Manchester United victory over Sunderland on Saturday.