Jack Grealish believes his £100million price tag will inspire rather than hinder him following his record move to Manchester City.
The England international admits he cried when he left boyhood club Aston Villa last week but felt the time was right to join a club competing for the top honours.
The challenge ahead with the Premier League champions is something he is relishing and he does not feel burdened by the expectation that could come with being British football’s most expensive player.
Grealish’s move sees him link up with his England team-mates Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker while the club continue to be linked with another in Harry Kane.
Grealish feels his international ambitions can only be helped by the move and expects England to benefit too from having a strong core of players at the club.
He said: “If I am performing for Man City week-in, week-out and playing in the Champions League and performing the way I know I can, it could set me up to have a brilliant future with the national team and to try to and start games at the World Cup and in the qualifiers.
“That was another important reason and if there are a few of us playing together and then going off to the national team I think that is something Gareth (Southgate) would probably like because we would have that chemistry.”
