De Bruyne called Guardiola to tell him to sign Grealish

De Bruyne is one of Pep Guardiola's most important players not only right now, but has been for many years. The Spaniard marvels at his work on the pitch and listens to his requests off it - one of which was Jack Grealish. 'The Independent' revealed an interesting story from when the European Championships were taking place.

The midfielder, who was representing the Belgium national team, noticed the outstanding performances of the Englishman. He then contacted Guardiola by phone to tell him that he should sign him for next season, which then opened negotitations with Aston Villa.

The manager listened to him and directed the request to the City board, saying that they had to make an offer for him. Around a month later, that deal is about to become reality. English tabloids such as 'The Sun' alongside more reliable sources such as 'Sky Sports' assure that the transfer is close to completion.

It's quite likely that Pep Guardiola was already aware of the quality of the Villa man before De Bruyne brought it to his attention. However, the fact that the Belgian came to him with his analysis all but confirmed that Grealish would be an ideal signing for Manchester City, who did have to get through some difficult negotiations in order to get their man.