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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola described Jack Grealish as one of the best players in the Premier League after setting up a Carabao Cup final clash against Aston Villa.

Grealish helped Villa secure their third trip to Wembley in as many seasons with another impressive performance in Tuesday’s semi-final second leg against Leicester City.

He set up Matt Targett’s opening goal and could have had another assist had Mbwana Samatta managed to get on the end of a delightful cross in the 2-1 victory at Villa Park which meant the score finished 3-2 on aggregate.

City, meanwhile, lost 1-0 against Manchester United on Wednesday evening but courtesy of a comfortable win in the first leg, also went through with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.

It is no secret that Guardiola is a huge admirer of Grealish – he praised the midfielder as ‘incredible' after City beat Villa in the Premier League in October and hailed him as an ‘exceptional player’ ahead of the meeting between the sides earlier this month.

Now, the Spaniard has gone further to suggest the 24-year-old is up there with the very best.

“They have one of the best players in the league in Jack Grealish,” he told reporters last night. “I’m a big fan of him.”

Guardiola’s comments will do nothing to dampen the transfer speculation that has surrounded Grealish all season.

He was linked with a move to the Etihad a couple of weeks ago and is also on Manchester United’s radar.