Jack Grealish has insisted that he needs to change games like Kevin de Bruyne at Manchester City, while admitting to feeling pressure over his £100 million ($138m) price tag.
City broke the British transfer record to prise Grealish away from Aston Villa at the start of August, tying him down to a lucrative six-year contract.
The 25-year-old made his debut for Pep Guardiola's side in their Community Shield defeat to Leicester, and has since started all three of their Premier League fixtures at the start of the new season, but he hasn't been completely satisfied with his performances.
What's been said?
Grealish is aware that he is expected to be the difference-maker in the final third due to his lofty fee, and feels he needs to follow De Bruyne's example when it comes to delivering the goods on a consistent basis.
"I have had games at City already where I have come off and I thought 'I could have changed that game more,'" the former Villa star told ITV Sport. "That's why they paid this amount of money for me'.
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"That is what the likes of Kevin De Bruyne would do. That is what he does; changes games and flips them on their head. I have had games already - the Community Shield final against Leicester and the first game of the season against Spurs - where I felt like I could have done that.
"But since then, I have had a perfect start to my career [at City]."
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Grealish believes he still has plenty of potential to unlock as he edges towards the prime years of his career, and looks up to De Bruyne as a role model having seen the Belgian improve season after season at Etihad Stadium.
"Nowadays, especially in football, you look at players in my type of position and you are not going to hit your peak [until later years]," he added. "For example, you look at Kevin De Bruyne, who is 30, and he has just signed a new deal at City and he is probably at the height of his career now.
"It is probably the best he has ever played in the last couple of years. I'm 25, I have got three, four, five years until I reach his age and I have got so much more to learn in the game and so much more to improve, and I feel like I will over the next few years, definitely."
Grealish's start at City
Grealish was powerless to prevent City from losing the Community Shield and suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat to Tottenham on the opening weekend of the 2021-22 campaign, but he shone during their fixtures against Norwich and Arsenal just before the international break.
The England playmaker opened his goalscoring account in the 5-0 win over the Canaries at Etihad Stadium before recording his first assist for the Premier League champions in another home victory by the same scoreline against the Gunners.
Grealish will likely have another chance to show what he can do when City return to action away at Leicester on September 11, and he could get his first taste of Champions League competition when they take on RB Leipzig three days later.
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