Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued a challenge to £49m defender John Stones to show the form of his opening games of the season.
Stones looked every inch the top player his price tag suggested he should be over the course of City's10 consecutive wins at theseason's beginning- starting every gameunder Guardiolaas City raced clear at the top of the Premier League.
With Vincent Kompanyback from injury,Stones had to settle for a place on the bench against Crystal Palace in the FA Cupat the weekend, butGuardiola sees his skipper's return as motivation for improvementand anopportunity for Stones to rekindle his initial form.
Asquoted by Manchester Evening News, the Spaniard said: "When his manager says: 'today, you are going to play', that's what he needs.
Fight like he fought from the beginning of the season. If you see my line-ups for the last three, four, five months, here, I try to let all the players play.
He has played a lot and now for this kind of stadium, for [Christian] Benteke, for the long balls, I decided to play two central defenders who are stronger in the air.
I will continue to play left-footed central defenders on the left side, like [Aleks] Kolarov, but I remember the last games he (Stones) played ” especially at Anfield, even in Goodison Park ” he played good.�
The England defender has come in for criticism in recent months for his contributionsin City's leaky defence, and has been dropped to the bench on a couple of occasions by the manager.
Kompany made an impressive return to the first-team in the 3-0 win in the FA Cup fourth round tie alongside Kolarov in the heart of defence, and said after the game he felt 'by far the happiest footballer on earth".