Grealish: 'Moving to City has been much more difficult than I thought'

Although the

's first £100 million player has failed to replicate the form that drew Manchester City to purchase him from Aston Villa in the summer, he has succeeded in scoring and assisting two goals in 12 league appearances. 

Pep Guardiola

benched Grealish during City's thrashing of Newcastle last weekend as a result of images posted in

depicting the 26-year-old leaving a nightclub with fellow player

Phil Foden

after their previous triumph against Leeds, with City apparently displeased with the pair's situation when they showed up for a recovery session in the following morning.

But he might be back in the Premier League champions' roster for their Boxing Day match against Leicester, and he is ready to prove to the Etihad fans what he can accomplish in 2022. 

"I've done okay so far," he said. "I've got so much more to give. It's been so much more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I'm still learning and adapting. I've heard some people take a year to adapt here so maybe it will be the same for me. I want to score more and set up more goals next year.

"It's crazy because the standards here are so high on and off the pitch. It's unbelievable and it's why they have been so successful over the years.

"Having a £100m price tag means when you are going through a dry patch people ask if you are worth the money - where are his goals, where are his assists? I understand that, but I have to see it as a privilege that the club wanted to spend that much money on me and I hope I can repay them with goals and trophies.

"Playing in the Champions League is completely different to the Premier League - I had never played in Europe before, and I really wanted to. It's unbelievable to hear the

anthem, it makes you pinch yourself. It's one trophy the players here really want to win."

Grealish's year in 2021 hasn't been all bad; after skippering Aston Villa to 11th spot last season, he played five times as England advanced to the Euro 2020 final, scoring both goals in the last-16 triumph over Germany at Wembley. 

Many of the Three Lions players instantly removed their runners-up medals after suffering penalty heartache in the final against Italy - but with time always a healer, Grealish claimed he could now reflect back with positive recollections on what was a remarkable summer for the national side.

He continued:

"Playing for England in the summer was unbelievable. Now it's gone, I look back on memories and photos and videos and I realise just how special it was. It was such a shame to lose on penalties, it is one of the worst ways to lose. Looking back it was definitely the best summer of my life. It was special for the country and the players and our families. It was a shame we couldn't go all the way, but it makes us more motivated to go all the way in the World Cup next year.

"Of course, we can win the

World Cup

. I'm not going to sit here and say we are going to win it. We've definitely got a good chance and the way we played in the Euros gives us belief that we can win the World Cup.

"I came here to City to try and win trophies. That's what you look at when your career ends - trophies and medals. Losing out with England has made me want to win trophies with City even more. We are playing some brilliant football at the moment and we are giving ourselves a really good chance of going on and winning a few trophies. That's why I came here."

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