Former Manchester City goalkeeper David James has given his verdict on Jack Grealish, with the winger enjoying his best Manchester City form since his £100m move last season.

“Jack Grealish looked like a player who wants to win the league,” James told Manchester Evening News.

“He was fantastic last season as well, he wasn’t anywhere near bad. I know he got a lot of question marks about him. The reason I said he ‘wants to win the league’ is because now they’re chasing Arsenal and last season it was City who were dominant and Liverpool were trying to catch them.

“I love Grealish – he’s carried himself so well since he’s been at City. There have been question marks of his price tag but he’s continued to perform. And more importantly he’s continued to perform the way Pep needs him to perform as opposed to him showing something different.

“It’s a combination of him being such a talented footballer and also the way Pep knew Grealish was going to be part of City’s makeup. If they are to win the league, which they obviously have a chance of doing, then Jack again will be a major part of that.”

“Jack signed last year, they won the league, he was heavily involved. In a sense his acquisition was correct,” he added. “Someone like Jack, he’s been so consistent over the last couple of seasons that people are starting to appreciate what it is he’s been doing rather than him being considerably better than he was before.”