Manchester City’s Jack Grealish has said that it is ‘frightening’ how Pep Guardiola has transformed John Stones into his newfound hybrid role.
In an interview with Channel 4 Sport, the 27-year-old was talking all things City after England walloped North Macedonia 7-0 on Monday.
Touching on how he has started to understand the Pep Guardiola way, Jack Grealish also pinpointed the elite tactician’s role in John Stones’ evolution.
Jack Grealish says what Pep Guardiola has done with John Stones is ‘frightening’
The £47.5 million (Sky Sports) man was a revelation last season, dovetailing from either centre-back or right-back into midfield.
Conor Coady went as far as to text his fellow countryman after the Sky Blues’ Premier League title win that he is ‘reinventing the game’, which shows how unique a role he is performing and that too at the highest level.
After giving an insight into what it has been like to work under Pep Guardiola for two seasons, Jack Grealish also went on to highlight his impact on John Stones reaching a completely new level.
“But now, I get what he wants. Certain passes, certain movements with and without the ball and to be fair, it’s different with what the manager here [Gareth Southgate] wants. That’s the same for everyone.”
“You see John for example, what Pep’s done with him is frightening.”
Pep Guardiola is the greatest tactician of his generation
There is a strong case to make that Pep Guardiola is the greatest tactical coach of all time and one of the many examples of this, as Jack Grealish pointed out is how he has evolved John Stones’ game.
The Catalan’s talent identification is second to none and to have noted that Stones possesses the calmness as well as the expansiveness to operate in a double pivot and choosing when to push him even further forward is another demonstration of an unreal tactical mind at work.
While several fans and pundits alike believe City cruised their way on to lifting a treble, it was Guardiola’s decision to change his system mid-season that transformed their season.
The number of tactical solutions that the Spaniard has created during his career is what truly separates him from the rest.
