Jack Grealish has stayed in contact with Everton after last season's loan move was cut short by injury, the club's CEO said.
Grealish made 22 appearances for Everton last season after leaving Manchester City on loan but a foot issue curtailed his campaign and cost him any hope of making England's World Cup squad.
Now back with parent club City, Grealish was a half-time substitute for Enzo Maresca's side in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal at the weekend.
"Jack is a player we've remained in contact with," Everton CEO Angus Kinnear told BBC Radio Merseyside.
"It was no secret that he decided to have his rehabilitation done here for the remainder of last season when he didn't have to do that.
"He's a player who's fallen in love with the right shade of blue but ultimately he's a Manchester City player at the moment and we need to respect that.
"The most important thing is he's back. He had a very serious injury, he's worked really hard to get back from that."
Kinnear insists they will hold out for their first choice right-back even though that means they will not have a recognised specialist in that role for Saturday's Premier League opener at home to Crystal Palace.
The Toffees have been searching for a long-term replacement for the recently-departed Seamus Coleman for over a year and centre-back Jake O'Brien and midfielders James Garner and Merlin Röhl have all played there, with Scotland international Nathan Patterson out of favour.
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Fulham's Timothy Castagne and Palace's Daniel Muñoz have been linked but with concerns over price and suitability, Everton have yet to make a move.
"We won't have a right-back for Palace but it's important we have the number one right-back we wanted when the window closes," Kinnear told BBC Radio Merseyside.
Kinnear also said they had not discussed a new contract for David Moyes, whose current deal expires next summer, as the manager was keen to concentrate on the transfer window. Moyes, in his first public interview since the end of last season, told Sky Sports News he was "still needing quite a few players."
"We're putting things together, but we certainly feel behind the scenes that we've got a long way to go and want to do an awful lot more," he said.
Press Association contributed to this report.
