How many fouls will Grealish win? How Man City stars pass the time when watching England playmaker in action

• Blues stars in action at Qatar 2022
• All through to the quarter-finals
• Believe in the ability of those around them

WHAT HAPPENED? The Portuguese pair have been keeping a close eye on England games while helping their own nation into the quarter-finals of Qatar 2022. A club colleague from the Etihad Stadium is an obvious source of interest to Silva and Dias, with Grealish having made four appearances off the bench for the Three Lions in their run to the last eight.

WHAT THEY SAID: Silva has said of monitoring how Grealish is faring on international duty, with the 27-year-old famed for his ability to attract strong challenges from opponents: “I love Jack, he’s a great guy. I keep sending messages to Jack. The other game when he was brought on, I was filming Ruben and I was asking ‘how many fouls do you think Jack Grealish is going to win in these 25 minutes?’ Ruben said nine and I said seven, I was closer as he didn’t win that much.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Silva added on Grealish, who has struggled to live up to his £100 million ($122m) price tag since completing a record-breaking transfer to City in 2021: “The first season is not very easy. It wasn’t easy for me when I arrived. I didn’t play much. People that play in other clubs think ‘if one day I play for Man City I will score 20 goals and 20 assists’ but it doesn’t work like that. Jack, in the way he works for the team, in the way he attracts players to him and then creates spaces for other players, he has been helping us a lot. He’s improving and I think he is going to be great for Man City the next few years.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Getty

Getty

Getty Images

WHAT NEXT? Grealish has contributed just one goal to the City cause this season, but remains part of Gareth Southgate’s England plans and will be hoping to see more game time when the Three Lions face France on Saturday.