Pep can polish Stones into a midfield diamond
IT can only be good news for England that Pep Guardiola is considering playing John Stones in a holding midfield role on occasions this season. As he demonstrated when converting Fabian Delph to a makeshift left back last year — or turning Javier Mascherano into an accomplished centre half at Barcelona — there is no one better than Guardiola for coaching a new position. Other countries have players who can switch effortlessly between defensive and midfield roles, but not England. Rio Ferdinand grew up talking of his admiration for Matthias Sammer, of Germany, yet was never given the opportunity to follow his path despite having the ability. Without doubt, Stones has the potential and if Guardiola can coax that out of him, Gareth Southgate will benefit, too.