Jamie O’Hara has been left gobsmacked by John Stones’ displays in his hybrid role for Manchester City.
Ahead of Luton Town’s 6-2 loss to City, Rob Edwards revealed that he was hoping that the five-time Premier League winner was benched.
However, the £250,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man did start in the centre of defence alongside Manuel Akanji on Tuesday night.
Jamie O’Hara in shock watching John Stones in his hybrid role
As the former Everton centre-back bossed proceedings, Jamie Carragher’s assessment of him as a “unique” defender rang true.
The same can be said about Oleksandr Zinchenko’s apt comparison of the Englishman to Javier Mascherano, who also played in midfield and as a centre-half for Barcelona during Pep Guardiola’s tenure.
Now, Jamie O’Hara has expressed his surprise at how John Stones performs in his hybrid role.
“We’ve got to have a discussion about John Stones. In my opinion, John Stones is one of the best centre-halves in the world. He’s playing basically centre-midfield for Manchester City”, he said on talkSPORT.
“It’s unbelievable, like he’s everywhere! If you’re a Luton player, you’re thinking, ‘Where’s John Stones playing?’ He’s everywhere. One minute, he’s playing at centre-half, then he’s playing number 10, then he’s playing out on the wing.”
Jamie O’Hara also believes that John Stones should play as an out-and-out midfielder for England.
“It’s incredible to watch him play. I love him! He should play centre-mid for England with Declan Rice. Find another centre-half!”
“I’d play John Stones in midfield. Play him in midfield, he’s that good. Honestly, he’s so good.”
“I think he’s wasted at centre-half for England. When you watch him in this Man City team, it’s ridiculous.”
John Stones could bamboozle Manchester United once again
For starters, it is impossible to disagree with Jamie O’Hara as John Stones is well and truly doing things on a football pitch that are beyond belief at this point.
Phil Jagielka also claimed that how the £47.5 million (Sky Sports) man has been going about his business is simply “incredible.”
As Manchester City are set to host Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Stones could be a thorn in the visitors’ side once again.
In the reverse fixture, the likes of Sofyan Amrabat, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay struggled to mark the elusive defender out of the game.
While Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo are expected to line up in midfield this time around, they rarely have, if even once faced a player like John Stones.
As a result, the Manchester City defender’s performance could determine whether Pep Guardiola’s men manage to do the double over United this season.
