Man City star Jack Grealish has point to prove ahead of facing his old mentor

Jack Grealish hasn't had quite the impact many might expect from a £100million signing this season.

That's no shame on the playmaker. The majority of new players that have arrived at Manchester City during Pep Guardiola's reign, especially forwards, take a long time to get fully accustomed to what the manager demands of them and to truly shine in the team.

Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus all needed at least a season before they were performing consistently, while Phil Foden was drip-fed into the side for a number of years before becoming a regular.

Besides, anyone who has actually watched Grealish in his 25 appearances so far, and not just glanced at his meagre goal and assists numbers, will know that he's doing just fine. His performances have largely been very good, and he clearly fits into Guardiola's team, it's still just going to take a bit of time for it all to click into place.

However, Grealish himself will no doubt be wanting to take as little time as possible and to prove his doubters wrong.

The 26-year-old was back on the bench again on Wednesday for the home victory against Brentford as he continues to come in and out of the side. He hasn't started over half of City's Premier League this season.

Guardiola shrugged his selection off, saying it was just his typical rotation but some players certainly get rotated more than others.

One man who would never have dreamed of dropping Grealish from his starting XI and had such a profound impact on his career is Dean Smith, with whom he will finally be reunited on Saturday.

Grealish looked as though all his undeniable talent may be squandered as he stuck by his boyhood club after they were relegated to the Championship and struggled. His promise was