Having bolstered Man Cityβs attacking options with the acquisition of Nolito and Leroy Sane, new manager Pep Guardiola moved to strengthen his defence this week with the signing of Everton defender John Stones for a fee believed to be Β£47.5 million.
The 22-year-old England international put pen to paper on a six-year deal at the Etihad, and speaking to the clubβs official website, revealed his happiness at joining City, and his desire to earn his place in Guardiolaβs starting XI:
“I’ve obviously seen what’s going on here at the Etihad, it’s an ambitious club with a great manager so I can’t wait to get stuck in and help achieve the goals. I know it will be tough getting a place in this team but I’m determined to become the best player I can be and help us to success.β
The History
Stones came through Barnsleyβs youth set-up, progressing all the way through to the first team. He made his professional debut in a 4-0 defeat to Reading in March 2012, and managed 28 appearances in all competitions for the Tykes, scoring one goal.
In January 2013, Everton paid Barnsley a fee reportedly in the region of Β£3 million to secure the young defenderβs services, although he had to wait until August 2013 to make his debut for the Toffees, coming in a 2-1 against Stevenage in the League Cup.
Stonesβ Premier League debut eventually came in a 1-1 draw against Stoke in January 2014, and he enjoyed a strong second half of the campaign, racking up a further 20 league appearances.
Whilst injury curtailed Stonesβ progress during the first half of the 2014/15 season, he ended the campaign as a regular starter, and totaled 23 league appearances, scoring one goal.
Last season, the cultured centre-back was Phil Jagielkaβs regular partner at the heart of the Everton defence, clocking up 33 appearances, although he failed to register any attacking returns. His individual performances did come under some criticism, though, with Evertonβs disappointing campaign eventually leading to the departure of Roberto Martinez.
Stones represented England at Under 19, Under 20 and Under 21 levels, making 17 appearances in total, before earning a senior debut off the bench in a 3-0 win over Peru in May 2014. He was included in Roy Hodgsonβs squad for Euro 2016, but was one of only two outfield players, along with Ross Barkley, not to feature in the tournament. He currently has 10 international caps but has yet to score for his country.
The Prospects
With Vincent Kompany expected to miss the opening weeks of the season due to a thigh injury, Stones will fancy his chances of going straight into the starting XI for Saturdayβs season opener against Sunderland.
Guardiola started with Aleksandar Kolarov and Fernando in central defence in Cityβs final pre-season match against Arsenal, but it could be that Stones partners Nicolas Otamendi against the Black Cats. The England man has got plenty of minutes under his belt playing for the Toffees during pre-season, and should physically at least be ready for the big kick-off.
Furthermore, Eliaquim Mangala has not been included in Cityβs Champions League squad, which indicates the Frenchmen will likely be allowed to leave before the transfer window closes.
Guardiola favours using a four-man backline, so when Kompany does return to full fitness, it could leave Stones and Otamendi battling for one position. Given the investment made in the England international, he may be the one to keep his place providing he settles quickly in Manchester.
The major positive for Stonesβ prospects is the fact Guardiola places so much emphasis on his defenders initiating attacks through their distribution, as he explained last month:
βNormally central defenders are strong in the air and aggressive. But we need to have a good build-up to create easy passes in the midfield so they can create good passes for the strikers. I believe when the ball goes from the central defender to the striker as quickly as possible, it comes as quickly as possible back.”
Crucially, amongst all defenders who played over 1000 minutes last season, Stones was ranked fourth for completed passes with 88%, illustrating his capability as a ball-playing defender.
Comparing the underlying statistics of Stones, Kompany and Otamendi from last season, itβs the Argentine who comes out on top. The former Valencia defender averaged a tackle every 21.4 minutes, far superior to both Kompany (45.9) and Stones (48.1). He held a similar advantage in terms of interceptions too, managing one every 27 minutes, better than both Stones (52.4) and Kompany (53.9).
The only significant area where Stones led the way amongst the trio came via blocks, averaging one every 83.9 minutes, far better than both Otamendi (215.9) and Kompany (310).
Otamendi could hold the edge for CBI, then, although the fact Kompany only managed 13 starts last season and was generally far from his best is perhaps not indicative of what we can expect if he can stay fit for a prolonged period of time.
The big factor in Stonesβ favour from a Fantasy perspective is the fact heβs priced at 5.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), whereas both Kompany and Otamendi are valued at 6.0.
That disparity is likely to be one of the main reasons why Stonesβ ownership has soared to 27% since the move was confirmed, and if City can equal or better the 16 clean sheets they accrued last season, the former Barnsley man could provide fantastic value providing heβs a regular starter.
As highlighted by this recent in-depth article on Guardiola’s tactics, the signs are promising:
βGuardiola has had the best defensive record in every league campaign of his career at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Tellingly, the most goals he’s ever conceded came in the first of those seven seasons and the fewest came in his last one with Bayernβ.
Stones does, however, lack any real goal threat, having only averaged an attempt every 366.9 minutes last term. That was far worse than Otamendi (104) and Kompany (112.7), both of whom have scored at decent number of goals throughout their careers.
Cityβs fixtures over the first six Gameweeks (SUN, sto, WHM, mun, BOU, swa) are fairly mixed though, so while Stones may offer tremendous value now playing for a side expected to compete for the title, it may take Guardiola time to get his methods across to his players β something that wonβt be helped by Stonesβ late arrival should he be thrust straight into the action.
Over the course of the season then, thereβs every expectation that Stones could develop as a viable FPL asset under Guardiolaβs guidance.
With a number of similarly priced options such as Robert Huth, Michael Keane, Ramiro Funes Mori, Alberto Moreno, Steve Cook, Patrick van Aanholt and Craig Dawson offering significantly greater goal threat, though, the City new boy may need to up his attacking output to offer exceptional value.
