Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville has likened Jack Grealish's transfer to Manchester City to Zinedine Zidane's arrival at Juventus back in 1996.
Grealish, who could make his first start for City when they face Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League opener on Sunday afternoon, joined the Etihad Stadium outfit in a £100 million deal just over a week ago, becoming the most expensive Premier League player in history.
City were wowed by the development that Grealish had made at Aston Villa in the past year or so, with the England international becoming the heartbeat of Dean Smith's side.
The attacking midfielder, who can also play out wide if needed to, was key for Villa last season, scoring six goals and grabbing 12 assists in 26 Premier League appearances.
Now, Neville has compared Grealish's arrival at City to when France legend Zidane swapped Bordeaux for Juventus 25 years ago.
"When you mention Zidane and Grealish people think I’m comparing them, but I’m not," Neville told The Overlap . "But when Zidane was at Bordeaux there was this feeling that he didn’t have a position, where do you play him and he’s got talent but not sure about him.
"All of a sudden you’ve got a brilliant Juventus manager in [Marcelo] Lippi and a brilliant Juventus team that turn him into something out of this world. I look at Grealish’s physique and it’s incredible.
"Zidane’s physique was incredible."
As well as that, Neville has also pointed out how City chief Pep Guardiola transformed Raheem Sterling's career for the better, insisting that if Grealish can follow suit then City could be poised for something very special.
Neville added: "I look at Pep’s coaching and think if the same level of improvement that happened to Sterling can happen to Grealish then you’ve got something that’s not just talent and potential, it’s incredible."
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