Pep Guardiola hints at major John Stones position change after goalscoring form for Manchester City | OneFootball

Manchester City may see the next phase in John Stones’ development as the all-round football, with Pep Guardiola hinting at a new position change for the defender.

The England international defender, who has already operated in a number of roles under Pep Guardiola, is finding a new level to his goalscoring capabilities this season with three goals to his name thus far in the campaign.

Following on from his heroics against Arsenal in the Premier League last month, in which Stones rescued a point for his team in the final seconds of a dramatic 2-2 draw against Mikel Arteta’s side, the 30-year-old now finds himself on a run of strikes in successive matches.

Sunday afternoon saw the defender record a 95th minute winning-goal against Wolves at Molineux to not only maintain Manchester City’s unbeaten streak this season, but also claim all three points against the division’s bottom-placed team.

Wednesday night then brought more goalscoring form for John Stones, as he made it 3-0 to Manchester City in what would turn out to be a dominant 5-0 route over Czech Republic side Sparta Prague.

Discussing the goalscoring improvement and form of John Stones thus far this season, Pep Guardiola told TV broadcasters after the game that he may even consider Stones as Manchester City’s striker should their mainstay Norwegian be deemed unavailable.

“I’m thinking about it; when Erling [Haaland] will not be able [to play], John [Stones] is going to play as a striker,” Guardiola said. “He has this sense of goal there!”

“He’s back, and I’m happy for him,” Guardiola said, just days after professing his love for a player that he has worked closely with since first arriving at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2016 – the same summer in which Stones joined Manchester City from Everton.

With two successive starts in the centre of Manchester City’s defence, it remains to be seen whether Stones’ place in the side is now permanent with games coming thick and fast for the club across competitions.

Many will be aware of Stones’ fitness problems during his time at the Etihad Stadium, and Manchester City medical staff will likely be conscious of not wanting to over-work the defender with too many consecutive, high-intensity matches.