Jack Grealish is being shown how to save Man City career by unlikely teammate

Jack Grealish isn't the first player to take a season to bed in at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, and he won't be the last.

When he first signed, Guardiola insisted that Grealish was signed for 'five or six years' rather than for an instant impact. Guardiola has since challenged his £100m man to start showing the goals and assists he was providing at Aston Villa. Guardiola has since declared himself happy with Grealish's performances and returns for other important metrics, but there's no doubting that he would have wanted to make more of an impact in his first year at City.

When the Blues go to the Bernabeu this week, Grealish will almost certainly be on the bench, as he has been for every knockout game in the Champions League so far. He's firmly in the group of backup players, drafted in to give the first-choice XI some rest.

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It might not be where Grealish saw his place in the squad when he signed his British record deal and picked up the no.10 shirt at City, but he can take consolation from the fact that plenty of others have taken a year to adapt.

Joao Cancelo was close to leaving City after a slow start, while Bernardo Silva took time to reach his lofty heights. Even then, when moving from an attacking wide role to a more defensive, all-action midfield role, Bernardo had a quieter year before kicking on again. Ferran Torres played a similar role in the squad to Grealish in his first year when he learned Guardiola's system and figured out a position for himself, while Rodri didn't have half the influence he currently enjoys until his second season. The same goes for Leroy Sane, too.

Even players already at City