Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he's wanted to sign Jack Grealish from the first time he saw him play.
Guardiola was asked at Friday's press conference when it was he knew he wanted to sign the Aston Villa skipper and he admitted it hadn't taken him long to realise he would be perfect for his team.
"It was the first time I saw him playing," said Guardiola to City's website. "Years ago, when I saw him for the first time.
“Sometimes it's not possible, you have the squad, you have to invest in other parts of the team which are weaker but especially when I saw him on TV, I said this guy controls the tempo I love when he has the ball he stops before the dribble and the opponent stops as well.
“He controls the tempo when he accelerates and decelerates. Especially when I saw him when we played Aston Villa, the physicality, the mentality.
“I liked many things we saw, that's why we tried, especially Txiki, Txiki was completely in love with him so that's why we decided to try. We could do it because we could sell, otherwise Jack would still be a Villa player.
“We believe that he will be perfect for us and for the age, quality plus he is English. I'm sure he will be an incredible player for the national team and we're delighted to have him with us."
Guardiola added his England team-mates will ensure he settles quickly and that at City, he will have the perfect platform to kick on to the next level.
“He has many mates from the national team," he said. We will create the best environment for him to express his incredible talent on the pitch every three days.
“He has to prove it to himself, he comes from a team who plays once a week and he will play three times a week, it's a bit different but I'm pretty sure he's able to do it."