David James has said that Premier League teams could end up figuring out how to tame John Stones next season.
Speaking on Manchester City’s official YouTube channel, the pundit did not back this to actually occur but did suggest that it is not off the table as well.
Considering John Stones has operated in his newfound hybrid role for an entire campaign, David James merely entertained the idea that Premier League teams could have an answer on how to keep him quiet.
David James suggests that Premier League teams could tame Manchester City defender John Stones
Branded as an ‘incredible player’ by Nedum Onuoha, the £47.5 million (Sky Sports) man had a season for the ages, as he dovetailed between either a centre-back or right-back position into central midfield.
So much so that after Erling Haaland, many Sky Blues supporters believe that he was the side’s best player.
However, David James has claimed that John Stones should be careful about the possibility of Premier League teams being aware of how to quieten his impact next season.
“What he’s going to find interesting or what we’re going to find interesting this season [is] everyone will have played him, except for Luton Town. Everyone would have played City with John Stones playing that role and they will try to work out how to stop him from doing what he’s doing”, he said.
David James said that this hypothesis does not merely apply to John Stones but his fellow treble-winning teammates as well, saying, “I think the first time you come up against it, it’s like, ‘what do we do?’ There’ll be a bit of familiarity so again, this will be a test for John, Ruben [Dias] and everyone in the team, can they work out how to stop City doing that? I’m not saying they will but they’d have the experience once, ‘can we allow it to happen again?’
Pep Guardiola will have a plan in place on how to best utilize John Stones
While David James may have a point, a certain Pep Guardiola is likely to be two steps ahead of others managers in the Premier League, ensuring that John Stones remains a nuisance for oppositions.
After all, Guardiola’s tactical flexibility is second to none and his knack of conjuring solutions for potential flaws out of nothing is what separates him from the rest.
To add to that, Stones is a truly elite footballer and even with a masterplan on how to lessen his impact, he has the ability, experience and know-how to continue to wreak havoc.
