Everton youngsters deliver in EFL Cup after Grealish omitted
Everton's younger players stepped in to secure victory over Newcastle at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Thursday after Jack Grealish was left out of the squad. Midfielder Hayden Hackney assisted James Garner's opening goal and scored Everton's second with a close-range volley.
A quarter-final tie against League Two Fleetwood awaited the winner, and supporters hoping for silverware — the competition described as perhaps Everton's best chance of winning a trophy for the first time in 31 years — watched nervously after it emerged Grealish had been dropped over an unauthorised absence from training. The unwanted headline threatened to derail preparations, but the club's younger players were the ones who came to the fore in the cup tie.
Hackney, a 24-year-old £16.5m summer signing from Middlesbrough, played a central role in the win. He started the season's opening match, the 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, but prior to Thursday his only subsequent start had been in the third round of the EFL Cup against Wolves; the fourth-round win was only the second time in his career he had scored and assisted in the same game. Although not known for prolific scoring, he carried the ball and linked phases of possession in the manner that earned him Championship player of the year last season.
David Moyes offered a mixed appraisal of Hackney's display. "I thought there were bits of his game that were very good," said the Everton boss. "Getting a goal was great. There were other bits where I didn't think it was where it was [supposed to be]. "But I see this as a bit of bringing in Championship players, getting them used to the Premier League. A couple of times he got caught on the ball. "But I really enjoyed bits. He gave us a bit of an attacking play, getting into the box, and obviously getting the goal was really good. A really good assist from Thierno Barry as well, to be fair."
The emergence of younger players is underscored by the club's summer recruitment and Thierno Barry's role up front. Of the 10 players signed on permanent deals since Moyes rejoined in January 2025, seven are aged 24 or under, including Barry. The France Under-21 international, who joined from Villarreal in July 2025, is Everton's only specialist centre-forward, has started every match and played 918 minutes this season; his seven goals are one fewer than last season despite playing 30 fewer matches, and he has been involved in 15 of Everton's 24 big chances (62.5%).
Squad-age and usage statistics point to a younger-looking first team. The average age of Everton's Premier League starting XI this season has fallen by almost 18 months to 26 years and 216 days, aided by the departure of Idrissa Gueye. First-team players aged 24 or under are logging a much higher proportion of Premier League minutes than in the previous campaign; Moyes used just 22 players in the Premier League last season and has already used 22 this season. Players aged 21 or under totalled 1,088 minutes in 2025-26 and have already exceeded that this season with 1,206 minutes.
Individual young players have been increasingly trusted in key roles. Harrison Armstrong, 19, who completed a six-month loan at Preston in January and was considered for another loan at Deepdale before integration, has started every Premier League match this season. Winger Tyler Dibling, 20, who moved from Southampton for £35m in summer 2025, struggled initially but was positive against Newcastle. Tyrique George joined permanently from Chelsea after a second-half loan spell in which he made one league start; the 20-year-old has made five starts this season, scored his first Everton goal in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in September, and started the recent EFL Cup tie, winning back possession for the opening goal. Merlin Rohl, 24, who signed permanently after an initial loan, has been entrusted at right-back: after missing four games through injury he was brought straight back into the XI against Chelsea and preferred to Ainsley Maitland-Niles for matches against Arsenal and Newcastle.
James Tarkowski, 33, has been singled out for strong form this season, while Jordan Pickford, 32, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 28, remain important to Moyes's plans. Moyes declined to reveal whether Grealish would return to the squad for the Premier League rematch at St James' Park on Monday, and Grealish could again miss out when Everton meet Newcastle for the second time in less than a week. The younger players' contribution in the cup tie will be measured further if they can reproduce that result in the Premier League.