Everton's EFL Cup fourth-round victory over Newcastle at Hill Dickinson Stadium could have been overshadowed by the off-field controversy surrounding Jack Grealish, who was dropped from the squad after what is understood to have been an unauthorised absence from training. Instead, the Toffees' younger players seized the moment and delivered a performance that raised hopes of a first trophy in 31 years.

Hackney's big moment

Central to the win was Hayden Hackney, the 24-year-old signed from Middlesbrough for £16.5 million in the summer. He assisted James Garner's opener before adding a close-range volley for Everton's second — only the second time in his career that he had scored and assisted in the same match.

Hackney had been used sparingly in the league before Thursday, with his only prior start of the season coming in the opening day 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. But his ball-carrying confidence and ability to link play — qualities that earned him the Championship player of the year award last season — were on full display against a strong Newcastle XI.

Manager David Moyes tempered his praise with characteristic directness. "I thought there were bits of his game that were very good," Moyes said. "Getting a goal was great. There were other bits where I didn't think it was where it was. A couple of times he got caught on the ball. But I really enjoyed bits — getting into the box, and obviously getting the goal was really good. A really good assist from Thierno Barry as well, to be fair."

Barry thriving under pressure

Barry, a France Under-21 international signed from Villarreal in July 2025, has been thrown into the deep end as Everton's only specialist centre-forward. He has started every match this season, accumulating 918 minutes, and his seven goals already put him one short of his entire tally from last season — achieved in 30 fewer matches.

Everton have created 24 big chances this season, and Barry has been directly involved in 15 of them — a remarkable 62.5 percent involvement rate. His assist for the opening goal against Newcastle underlined his growing importance to the side.

A generational shift at Goodison

The performances of Hackney and Barry reflect a broader trend under Moyes. Seven of the 10 players signed on permanent deals since the manager returned to the club in January 2025 are aged 24 or under. The average age of Everton's Premier League starting XI has fallen by almost 18 months this season to 26 years and 216 days.

Players aged 21 or under have already clocked 1,206 minutes in the league this season, surpassing their total of 1,088 for the entirety of 2025-26. Harrison Armstrong, 19, has started every Premier League match. Tyrique George, 20, joined permanently from Chelsea and has scored his first Everton goal — in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in September. Tyler Dibling, 20, arrived from Southampton for £35 million and is growing into his role. Merlin Rohl, 24, has been trusted to fill the problematic right-back position ahead of the more experienced Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Moyes declined to confirm whether Grealish would return for Monday's Premier League meeting with Newcastle at St James' Park. Experience — embodied by James Tarkowski, 33, Jordan Pickford, 32, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 28 — still matters to the 63-year-old manager. But when Everton's younger players are performing like this, they are making it increasingly difficult to ignore them.