Jamie Redknapp has hailed Manchester City defender John Stones for achieving the potential of his early Everton days.
Writing for the Daily Mail, the Sky Sports pundit explained how impressed he has been with Stone this season and that he looks every bit as good as he once promised to be when breaking through at Goodison Park.
“Stones is now looking like a world class player,” Redknapp told the Mail. “He is the Rolls-Royce I knew he could be when he first broke into the Everton team.
“It used to rankle when Stones was criticised for dwelling too long in possession, for trying to play out from the back rather than clear the danger.
“If he had been a young player in La Liga, he would have been praised for his ability on the ball, not hammered for the mistakes he made.
“He is now working with a manager in Pep Guardiola who encourages those traits and can bring out the best in his game. In the last two and a half seasons, Stones’ confidence has soared.”
OPINION
Stones was outstanding for City in their 3-1 derby win over Manchester United on Sunday, which was the cherry on the icing of a delicious cake this season. There has been barely a match in the current campaign in which Stone has not delivered a tasty display. His partnership with Aymeric Laporte has laid the foundations for a title challenge that could not be more convincing. With confidence bolstered by an outstanding World Cup, Stones has seen off Premier League great Vincent Kompany and 2017-18 mainstay Nicolas Otamendi to be a mainstay of Europe’s most competitive side. Credit to Guardiola for getting the best out of a player who has experienced plenty of bumps along the road to potential greatness, and to Everton for giving him the chance to play regularly in his late teens and early 20s. Everton got a princely fee for Stones when he joined City in the summer of 2016 – a then-world record £55million for a defender – but he now looks worth nearly double that.