Jack Grealish says he was "nowhere near as good" as Jude Bellingham at 18 - "it's scary"

Jack Grealish has been forced to admit that he was "nowhere near as good" as England teammate Jude Bellingham when he was 18.

The Manchester City star shared the Wembley stage with the Borussia Dortmund ace during the Three Lions' routine 3-0 victory over Ivory Coast and waxed lyrical about Bellingham's talents post-match. After the 18-year-old was named Man of the Match for his performance on Tuesday, teammate Grealish was asked whether he had played alongside a teenager as good as Bellingham, who is the subject of long-running transfer interest from both Manchester United and Liverpool.

"I haven't actually. It is scary how good he is at 18," the former Aston Villa captain, who also hails from Birmingham like the youngster, replied. "He is just so mature. He is built like he is my age at 26. He has so much technical ability and he is mature for his age. I can tell you one thing, I was nowhere near as good at 18. I was at Notts County (on loan from Villa) and I was a scrawny little thing as well.

"You see talented 18 or 19-year-old kids but not many are that mature as he is on the pitch. He is so versatile and can play in many different positions on the pitch. He can be a six, eight or a ten. It was good to play with him and I think it was my first time playing with him. It is nice to play with a fellow Brummie."

The ex- Birmingham City prodigy has cemented himself into Gareth Southgate's squad over the past year and is set to make his 23-man roster for the World Cup in Qatar later this year. Having received heaps of praise since breaking into the senior setup on the eve of last summer's European Championships, Rio Ferdinand has become the latest to demand Bellingham's inclusion in England's starting XI come