Rio Ferdinand predicts position change for Jack Grealish at Man City

Rio Ferdinand believes Jack Grealish could rediscover his role as a number eight at Manchester City in the future.

The 27-year-old, who earned another call-up to the England squad for this month’s internationals, silenced his critics by scoring within a minute of City's 3-0 triumph over Wolves on Saturday. It was his first strike in five outings this season.

Grealish had received criticism for an abject performance in the 2-1 win over Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday. He struggled to find a potent edge before being taken off before the hour.

Responding to the criticism, he said: “I obviously got injured and I have been injured since last week. I have come back and played a few Champions League games.

“I felt like I could have done better in both of them [games], but I am still trying to catch up on my fitness.” Pep Guardiola reiterated his trust in the playmaker by starting him at Molineux.

He has mostly been used as a left winger by his boss since his £100million switch from Aston Villa, where he operated as a central attacking midfielder. Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand believes Grealish could eventually move back into the role at City in time.

He said: “I like him there (in the number eight position), where he picked it up at Villa. It’s very different here, there’s a structure that he has to play within here. But I see with time he could end up falling back in there for City.”