When Jack Grealish breezed back into Everton in his white Lamborghini one hour before the end of this summer’s transfer deadline, the excitement among supporters and the player himself was clearly evident.
Grealish’s previous spell on loan at Everton from Manchester City had been cut short by a serious foot injury, but the 31-year-old had produced enough moments of excitement to make his return to the Finch Farm training base a rare moment of joy amid a miserable summer in the transfer market.
When Grealish finally left in the early hours – with the deal done and every autograph signed and every selfie posed for – it was a sort of homecoming for an everyman personality Everton fans had come to regard as one of their own.
This was a move with a lot riding on it – for Everton manager David Moyes, who had been left with only 18 senior players after a botched transfer window, and especially for Grealish, whose exile from City at the start of the final year of his contract confirmed his banishment.
Now, Grealish’s future and Everton’s faith in him, has reached a defining moment.
Grealish’s exclusion from Everton’s squad before the Carabao Cup tie at home to Newcastle was publicly described as “a breach of club discipline”.
Specifically, it was a failure to turn up for training on Monday, leaving the talented maverick – who was Britain’s first £100m footballer when he signed for City from Aston Villa in summer 2021 – facing another rebuild in his career.
Everton’s decision to go public before the game with the reasons for Grealish’s absence emphasised the seriousness of his transgression.
The fall-out means this now looks increasingly like Grealish’s ‘now or never’ moment, because failure at Everton will surely mark a downward spiral from the top echelons of the Premier League.
Everton do not regard this week’s misdemeanour as marking the proverbial ‘Last Chance Saloon’ for Grealish. Moyes does not have enough players at his disposal to make rapid outcasts of potential game-changers.
But it increases the pressure on the former England forward to win back the faith of fans who love his obvious enjoyment of life and the magic he has shown he can produce.
Moyes will hope it is a harsh lesson learned, because Everton now have even more to play for, given Wembley has suddenly come into view in the Carabao Cup.
BBC Sport believes there have been occasional time-keeping issues with Grealish in the past, but nothing on this scale from a personality regarded as a hard trainer who, in general, keeps himself in good condition.
Grealish has held talks with those in authority at Everton, where it is sure to have been made crystal clear there must be no repeat, certainly not under a strict disciplinarian such as Moyes, and he must now attempt to be rehabilitated back into the squad.
The inevitable decision to punish Grealish, taken at high level within the club but with input and full support from Moyes, leaves him at the crossroads.
That is especially the case because Everton gave arguably their best performance of the season to beat Newcastle United 3-1 and set up a quarter-final at League Two Fleetwood Town, conquerors of Premier League champions Arsenal in the last round.
And it was done with the more dynamic style of 20-year-old Tyrique George playing on the left flank, which Grealish might have been expected to occupy.
