Manchester City defender John Stones has revealed that he learnt from watching the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as a youngster.
Stones is renowned for his preference of playing out from the back and stated that he enjoyed watching ex-Manchester United centre-back Ferdinand and Chelsea legend Terry, who played in a similar style.
Stones told the Daily Mail: “There isn’t really anyone I modelled myself on. Everyone assumes it was Rio. I did watch Rio and loved how he played but John Terry did it, too, and didn’t get the credit for it.
“I was such a big football fan in general, I just watched as many games as I could and I picked up things from every game.”
Stones has received a considerable amount of criticism for some of the avoidable errors that he has made in his career so far but the 23-year-old has continued to play in the same manner and is now starting to perform with greater consistency for City.
Superb in possession, Stones has been successful with 97 per cent of the passes that he has attempted in the Premier League so far this season, while he has averaged three defensive actions per game.
City have made an excellent start to the season and are top of the table having taken 16 points from their first six league fixtures. Stones will hope that he can play a major part in helping Pep Guardiola’s team to glory.
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