Rio Ferdinand has praised John Stones for the ease with which the Manchester City defender has adapted to his new auxiliary midfield role.
Stones has undertaken the key role of inverting from full-back into midfield in recent weeks, stepping into the boots of Joao Cancelo following his loan move to Bayern Munich. The England international has been outstanding in recent weeks, playing a crucial role as Pep Guardiola's side challenge for an illustrious treble.
The role change has been a major one for Stones, who at 28 years old has spent the vast majority of his career at centre-back. But Ferdinand believes his adaptability to the nuances of the midfield role is to be admired.
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"[City] are set up and they’ve got defenders who want to defend, and they’re capable of doing that," Ferdinand told BT Sport. "I think that the position of John Stones is very key - the way he’s been playing, the way he’s been utilised very differently. It’s a unique situation for him because you think at this age in his career, being told to do new things, but he’s embraced it and been magnificent.
"What he’s trying to achieve is drag the midfielder to him so that there will be space behind in the next phase of play, and he makes great little movements - very subtle movements. He’s been fabulous in that role, Pep [Guardiola] has been teaching him constantly - he said that to us - and he’s been growing into that role."
Stones had big boots to fill in undertaking the role left by Cancelo, but the City man has earned the trust of Guardiola, who has backed the former Everton man in the biggest games including both legs of their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
"He's been unique this season," Lescott added. "He’s made that role his own and we’ve seen other teams adapt that similar style with the way he’s performing with the ball at his feet. He’s recognising patterns, he’s picking up spaces, identifying where the next pass is, and there’s not many players with that capability.
"He’s full of confidence, you’re seeing that at the weekend with his goal. I don’t think he takes that on if he’s not as confident as he’s been, and rightly so as not only has he been scoring but he’s getting assists, we saw that last week against Bayern Munich. He’s contributing in so many ways and he’s probably in the form of his life."
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