Man City 'Intent' on Signing Jack Grealish After Kevin De Bruyne Recommendation

Pep Guardiola has urged Manchester City to sign Aston Villa's Jack Grealish following a glowing recommendation from Kevin de Bruyne, according to a report.

Interest in Grealish is nothing new. 90min learned of interest from Manchester United in the summer, but that cooled after Villa strengthened their negotiating position by staving off relegation.

Since then, he has taken his game to another level. Grealish has been at the epicentre of a terrific start to the season for Villa, scoring four times and assisting six in just eight Premier League appearances, forcing his way into Gareth Southgate's England plans.

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Manchester City are interested in signing Sassuolo midfielder Manuel Locatelli this summer, but face competition from both Juventus and Milan.

The Independent now report that it's City who are leading the race to sign him, with Guardiola feeling he is a key piece of a forthcoming rebuild at the Etihad.

Other targets are said to have been discussed, but Grealish is seen as affordable and comes with a strong recommendation from De Bruyne, who spoke glowingly of the 25-year-old before England's Nations League clash with Belgium earlier this month.

"I rate him very highly," De Bruyne admitted. "He’s somebody I mentioned before, talking to the teammates at City, in a random conversation.

"In England they talked about creative problems in midfield, but he brings that to a team. He deserves a shot."

That respect, it seems, is mutual. Speaking after that match, where he announced his arrival on the international stage with a strong performance, Grealish name-checked De Bruyne as an inspiration for his style of play.

“The last 24 hours I’ve been watching clips of my favourite players, which I always do, and I’ve been buzzing, wanting it to start," Grealish told Sky Sports. “I watched loads of clips of De Bruyne, Coutinho, loads of people who are in my position. I did it as a little kid and I still do it today and that’s what gets me going for football matches."