John Stones: Player Profile | Playing Style | Trophies

Despite missing on injuries for an extended period, John Stones has recently shown why he still deserves to be recognized as one of the premium defenders not just in the Premier League but all over the world. 

His performances against Chelsea and Manchester United recently were exquisite, and Pep would be happy that he held on to the defender.

How it Began:

John Stones kicked off his career with Barnsley's first-team in the Championship in March 2012 when he was just 17 years old. After a year, he joined the Toffees Everton for a fee of €3m and made over 90 appearances for the club.

After catching Pep Guardiola's eyes, he was bought by Manchester City in August 2016, for an initial €47.5m with add-ons.

He was then the second-most expensive defender in history. He made his debut which was coincidently also Pep Guardiola's debut as the Manchester City boss.

After scoring some crucial goals for the Cityzens, Stones was subjected to criticism over his performances in the league. However, the City man acknowledged the hate by scoring a brace, including a second-minute header in a Champions League group stage game against Feyenoord, which is City's fastest goal in the Champions League history.

However, after some decent performances, he sustained a hamstring injury that made him miss football until 2018. Then in March 2018, he was injured again and his time at the club was retrospected as the player struggled with fitness.

Similar reasons saw him miss most of the 2019/20 season too.

John Stones Style of Play

Stones may not be the most robust defenders in the game, but he is technically gifted and that doesn't inhibit his effectiveness on the pitch.

Most commonly called as a ball-playing center-back, Stones possesses composure, vision, range of passing, and can head into the goal during set-pieces too.

It's not that Aymeric Laporte has replicated himself or has managed to carry the new signings. Stones has been exorbitant when it comes to making the most of the opportunities, and this is a prime example of that.

Pep Guardiola may want to include Laporte into the starting XI but Stones hasn't been an inch wrong since he's made a return into the Cityzens XI.

John Stones Trophies and Honors

Firstly, he became the Everton Young Player of the Season in 2014-15. He was a part of the Manchester City squad that won the 2017-18 Premier League and EFL Cup, the Community Shield in 2018, Premier League in 2018-19, with the FA Cup and Community Shield in the same season.

Being only 26 years of age, John Stones has a lot ahead of him, and hopefully, in a Manchester City shirt. Let's see how things pan out in the future.