Manchester City have solidified defensively this season, though some may feel it has come at the expense of their attacking prowess.
Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Manchester United means City have now kept six clean sheets in a row in all competitions, with no goals conceded since the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Ruben Dias has certainly helped since his arrival from Benfica, but the real surprise has come with the resurgence of John Stones.
The 26-year-old was superb against United, and Stones has become a regular of late, starting in five of those six games with a clean sheet.
Stones has always been a talented ball-player from the back, but many have been concerned with his actual defensive ability and his desire to truly keep goals out of the City net.
It now seems that Stones has matured as a player, and knows that he needs to play well to keep his place; Dias has arrived, Nathan Ake has come in, Aymeric Laporte is still at the club and Eric Garcia is another option.
Stones had offers to leave City; the Daily Star claimed in October that Stones rejected a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day, as he had no desire to make the move to London.
That looked a curious decision given Stones’ role at City, but his decision is really paying off now as he turns in consistently superb performances for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Could Stones now make a late run for the England squad? Well, you can’t rule it out. Gareth Southgate’s back line isn’t set in stone right now, and Stones’ ability to play out from the back is already appealing; add in a developing defensive game, and he will be hard to ignore.
Tottenham may wish they had managed to land this Stones, but that ship now appears to have sailed as the £47.5million defender starts to really show his quality once again after a tricky campaign last season.
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