After Manchester City beat Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup Final, Ian Wright expressed his surprise at John Stones’ adaptation in his newfound hybrid role.
The renowned pundit reacted to the £47.5 million (Guardian) man’s impressive outing on ITV Sport against Erik ten Hag’s side on Saturday.
Much like the rest of the world watching Manchester City defeat Manchester United, Ian Wright too was left gobsmacked by John Stones’ display and his transformation as a whole.
Ian Wright lauds John Stones after Manchester City beat Manchester United in FA Cup final
The English defender has been getting his fair share of props for how he has managed to effortlessly dovetail from a centre-back or a right-back position into midfield.
After his stunning showing against United, Jamie Carragher went as far as to compare the ex-Everton colossus to Lothar Matthaus and Matthias Sammer.
Now, Ian Wright has praised John Stones’ evolution into his new role, as Manchester City vanquished Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.
“He just keeps the game going. We’re not seeing incisive passes, couple of them went out not too far. He’s in the right place, take the heat off and then feed it to one of the players.”
Ian Wright also said that despite Joao Cancelo’s exit, it has not affected Manchester City, as was evident against Manchester United due to the magnificence of the 29-year-old.
“But then you look at what happened with [Joao] Cancelo and you’re thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, they got rid of Cancelo.’ But we didn’t realise that they were going to move John Stones into this kind of situation and he’s just absolutely dominated this position. Brilliant.”
John Stones deserves a world of credit for how he has managed to not just fill in one of the most complex roles in football but to have played arguably the best football of his career while he has been at it.
