Former Ireland and Everton winger Kevin Kilbane joined The Football Show to discuss Manchester City, Jack Grealish and his season so far.

Jack Grealish received plenty of criticism during his first season with Manchester City.

The former Aston Villa player joined Pep Guardiola's side and never fit in. He spent most of his games staying wide, getting the ball and passing it back inside to a teammate in a similar position. Grealish lost the creative spark that made him a £100 million signing.

But Manchester City still won the Premier League. And after they did, Grealish gave an interview saying he was still learning the City way.

He's learned it now. Grealish is now an important player for the best team in England and most likely the best team in the world. He is drawing plaudits from every direction, the same people who criticized him regularly last season.

And Kevin Kilbane has huge appreciation for what he has done this year.

"He's class. You can't get away from that," Kilbane said.

"He's top quality and any player, no matter what level that you're at, when you get a move to a club, certainly a big move [it's difficult initially]. I would have experienced that myself going as record transfers in certain clubs. The spotlight is on you immediately and you have to deliver. Or you feel like you have to deliver.

"And you maybe start to do things that are not necessarily suited to your game.

"Everything revolved around Grealish when he was at Villa. And everything revolves around De Bruyne essentially at City. He's had to change his own game, change his style, and that doesn't happen overnight. Just like how we talk about coaches needing a bit of time."

Grealish scored five goals and assisted 11 more before Manchester City's Champions League match with Real Madrid.

 

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