The Jack Grealish quality taking him to the next level for Pep Guardiola and Man City

Jack Grealish has arguably been the Premier League's form player since the top flight returned following the winter World Cup.

The Man City playmaker has established himself as one of the first names on manager Pep Guardiola's teamsheet with a series of sparkling performances. The 27-year-old has nine goal involvements in 13 top flight starts since December having only managed eight league appearances in the first half of the season.

The former Aston Villa man is showing why City paid £100million to secure his signature 18 months ago. Grealish is now adept at what Guardiola is seeking from him and his manager has been quick to praise him this term.

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His recent upturn in form has also caught the eye of former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand who believes Grealish's intelligence is coming to the fore in understanding the City set-up. Indeed Ferdinand, speaking on punditry duty ahead of the Champions League last eight first leg tie with Bayern Munich, feels Grealish is on track at City despite something of an underwhelming first season in blue.

"It takes time to adjust. Just because his price tag is £100 million people don’t value or afford you the time to adjust," said Ferdinand.

"It’s a new environment, new club, new stadium, new tactics, new teammates, there’s so many elements to it and not many players just go into a new system and just is able to adapt immediately - especially in a system like Pep’s. It’s so intricate, he’s probably the most intricate coach out there so to start understanding the nuances and tactical details is very difficult.

"For someone like him (Grealish) who’s played a certain way,