Former Everton defender John Stones was essentially denied a reunion with his former club after re-integrating himself into Pep Guardiola’s plans at Manchester City, as reported by The Athletic.
Stones saw his usual starting spot at centre-back usurped by ex-Barcelona youngster Eric Garcia towards the denouement of last season as doubts circled over the future of Stones at the Etihad Stadium.
However, the two-time Premier League winner with City has since commanded the left side of central defence in the absence of Aymeric Laporte and has enjoyed an impressive resurgence so far this season.
Previously, between injury, poor form and off-field issues, Guardiola ended up feeling as though he could no longer trust Stones – leaving the Toffees sniffing around for his signature.
Guardiola opened up on why Stones had re-invented himself at City, saying: “He’s a guy who is so sensible and that helps to be focused on what we have to do.”
Stones spent time during the summer analysing his own performances and working out where things had gone wrong. As one close observer phrased it this week to The Athletic, “John isn’t doing anything differently, it’s just confidence.”
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A return to Everton would arguably have been a signal of failure to the world vis-a-vis Stones’ time at the Etihad, despite trophy-laden periods.
His work ethic in re-inventing himself at City is a testament to the work that Everton put in when they recruited him themselves, serving as a catalyst for self-improvement and better performances.
In that view, Toffees fans may well be delighted to see him excelling again, even if they may wish he was doing so in Merseyside rather than Manchester blue.
