Pep Guardiola has backed Jack Grealish and told Manchester City's record-breaking £100million signing not to listen to his critics.
Grealish has endured a slow start to the season, failing to score or provide an assist in his four appearances for City, after overcoming injury at the start of the campaign. He was hauled off with City trailing 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in midweek, with Guardiola's side staging a fine comeback after his withdrawal, to win 2-1.
Despite his underwhelming start to the new season, Gareth Southgate included Grealish in his latest England squad, with the winger almost certain to go to the World Cup this winter.
City boss Guardiola also said he has not lost faith in Grealish - despite the 27-year-old's meagre goals and assists return - and insisted he remains a key player for him going forward.
"I know him and I'm more than happy and delighted with what he's doing," said Guardiola. "I don't have any doubts about him, not at all. Now it's just a question of time to get back a little bit of his momentum that he had at the beginning of the season.
"He started really well, but had to stop for a problem in the ankle and we were lucky it was not worse. In the last game, in the final third, he was the only one up front who was making aggressive runs one-against-one, but to make assists he didn't have his mates in the box, so we left him isolated.
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"When he was going against the full-back, only Erling [Haaland] was there. [Ilkay] Gundogan was not there, Kevin [De Bruyne] was not there and they should have been there. In the first-half, especially with the ball, we didn't make any movements to help the players who had the ball and give him more possibilities to make it easier."
While City can boast nine different goalscorers this season, Grealish is not among them, but Guardiola insisted the club did not sign him from Aston Villa for goals and assists.
"We didn't sign him for the incredible goals or assists at Aston Villa," said Guardiola. "It was for another reason and, when he played, he did it. He competes with top, top players as well and he knows it perfectly. But never complains about that.
"He's such a nice guy and in the games when he doesn't play, he's the first to help the team and in the training sessions he's always there. I'm delighted with his behaviour and everything. I want him to make goals and I want him to make assists, and he does too.
"But it's not about that, it's about his contribution without the ball and what he can produce for the other ones and the many, many things that he's able to do."
Asked whether Grealish was affected by external criticism, Guardiola said his advice to the England star – and all of his players – is to ignore what is said about them.
"I don’t talk about that, if they listen to all the comments or the radio," said Guardiola. "Always I say to them, 'You don't have to listen to what people say, whether you played good or bad. You know, and every one of us knows if you did your best on this specific day'."
