‘Would help them out’: Anfield coach thinks Everton should sign Guardiola player

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Gary O’Neil thinks Everton should look to bring John Stones back to the club because he would ‘help them out at the back’, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live (09/09/20 at 9:20 pm).

The former Premier League midfielder, who is now an assistant coach for Liverpool’s U23’s, thinks that Stones has ‘come on a lot’ ever since he left Goodison Park in 2016.

Many were tipping him to take his game to the next level at the Etihad, but he has stagnated during his time in Manchester and now finds himself struggling to earn game time.

O’Neil, who would have played during an era when the likes of John Terry and Sol Campbell were flattening attackers, commented on the lack of old school defenders in the game now.

“They’re not too many proper leader centre-halves about anymore,” O’Neil told BBC Radio 5 Live. “They are very difficult to find.

“I don’t know what his situation is, at the moment, at Manchester City. I was maybe a little bit surprised that we didn’t hear a bit more from Everton about maybe going down the John Stones route. Of course, he hasn’t played much at Manchester City.

“He has come on a lot. He seems to be a little bit more vocal than he was when he arrived at Manchester City. So, maybe somebody like that would help them out at the back..”

ESPN have reported that Everton could bring Chelsea’s Fikayo Tomori to Merseyside, and he would be a great addition to Carlo Ancelotti’s set-up.

It has to be questioned whether the Everton faithful would welcome back Stones because he wasn’t exactly a popular figure with the fans when he decided to leave four years ago.

Plus, his ball-playing skills are not needed at Goodison. Ancelotti needs something more robust and old school.

A Phil Jagielka in his prime is missing at Goodison, with the likes of Michael Keane, Yerry Mina, and Mason Holgate still trying to prove that they are capable of producing the goods at the back over a whole season.