John Stones has backed fearless Jack Grealish to make an immediate impact at Manchester City following his arrival from Aston Villa for a British-record £100million fee.
England international Grealish was confirmed as a City player last week and made his debut as a second-half substitute in Sunday s 1-0 Community Shield defeat to Leicester City.
The 25-year-old played 25 minutes in that annual curtain-raising fixture, managing 25 touches of the ball and completing 15 of his 16 passes during his time on the pitch.
He is in contention to start City s opening Premier League fixture against Tottenham next Sunday and Stones is excited by what his international team-mate will bring to the side.
Jack s an incredible footballer. A raw talent. I think you can see he is a bit fearless in how he plays and very direct, Stones told City s official website.
We only saw a little bit of him in the Euros, but when he came on everyone was excited to see him and he came on and gave some vital assists at key moments.
He is a big game player. An incredible person as well. He is coming into one of the best dressing rooms in the world non-football wise, with the characters we have here and he will fit in straight away.
I am sure he will be looking forward to more success here and hopefully winning some silverware.
Stones was speaking after signing a new long-term contract at the Etihad Stadium that keeps him tied down to City until June 2026.
Former Everton defender Stones has spent the past five seasons with City and played an integral part in last term s Premier League and EFL Cup double.
City kept 19 clean sheets across the centre-back s 35 appearances in 2020-21 and conceded only 16 times with him on the field.
The 27-year-old s 24 blocks in 2020-21 were his most in a single season at City, while 32 tackles and 146 recoveries were above his average numbers over the past five seasons.
It marked quite the turnaround for Stones, who struggled for form and fitness during 2019-20 and came close to leaving the club.
And the Barnsley academy product has thanked Pep Guardiola and City s coaching staff for the faith shown in him.
I think everyone, coaching staff, all the other staff that are here, from day one made me feel so welcome, Stones said.
Everyone plays a major part in our success as players. I appreciate what everyone does for me here as a person.
It is hard to say, but they have had a big impact on me and it was an easy decision for me to put pen to paper again. I feel like this is home and I absolutely love the place.
