Dream Team bosses recruiting Jack Grealish ahead of Gameweek 4 might have got their timing wrong

FIRST things first, Jack Grealish (£3.4m) deserves huge credit for how he’s started the season.

A loan move from Manchester City to Everton seems to have reinvigorated the 29-year-old, who has provided four assists in just 197 minutes of Premier League action.

This surge of creativity, coupled with a joint-high tally of bonus points (6), means Grealish has amassed 30 points across the first three Gameweeks of the campaign.

Lucas Paqueta (£3.7m) is the only midfielder above him in the rankings at the time of writing.

The Toffees’ new fan favourite has made an instant impact at Hill Dickinson Stadium and that’s reflected in the Stats Centre.

Grealish ranks joint-second for fouls won, joint-seventh for successful dribbles, and (weirdly) joint-third for blocks — his pass completion rate of 90% is more than useful too.

It’s therefore understandable why so many Dream Team managers have been persuaded.

His current ownership of 30.8% is bettered by just three players: Erling Haaland (£7.5m), Joao Pedro (£4.7m) and Mohamed Salah (£7.5m).

He is comfortably the most selected midfielder right now.

As things stand, he’s also the most popular recruit ahead of Gameweek 4.

But have gaffers got their timing right?

Those who backed Grealish from the off or recruited him at any point throughout August have been handsomely rewarded but the Dream Team landscape will change after the international break when the European competitions get underway.

The commencement of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League means plenty of double Gameweeks for Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.

The good news is that while Everton aren’t involved in Europe, they’re still in the Carabao Cup, giving them a double header in Gameweek 5.

However, all this means Grealish has a maximum of four point-scoring opportunities across the next three Gameweeks.

In contrast, eight teams are currently scheduled to play six times in the same time frame.

Grealish may well continue to supply healthy returns but he’ll have to produce something extraordinary to maintain his lofty status in the rankings without European commitments to bolster his schedule.

Furthermore, David Moyes’s side face a relatively tricky run of league games from now until the end of October: Aston Villa (h), Liverpool (a), West Ham (h), Crystal Palace (h), Manchester City (a), Spurs (h).

It’s not that it’s a schoolboy mistake to recruit Grealish during the international – doing so means catching a useful price increase – but the upcoming schedule is against him.

He certainly wouldn’t be the first player to defy a fixture deficit – Bryan Mbeumo (£5.5m) worked wonders last season with hardly any additional games outside the Premier League – but gaffers who play the percentages will stay clear at this point in time.

Prove us wrong, Jack!