John Stones has evolved into this beloved cult figure at Manchester City despite never really being a player locked in to start every single match.
The 30-year-old centre-back is now a veteran in the squad having joined them in 2016 and his path has been quite different to the likes of Kyle Walker or Kevin de Bruyne.
While the aforementioned two have been vital clogs of the Manchester City team in recent years and undisputed starters, Stones hasn’t exactly been able to achieve that status.
The most number of appearances he has made in a single Premier League season for the Cityzens was in the 2016-17 campaign at 27. That number has only gone down.
But he’s kept himself mentally strong to have a commendable contribution in their 5 Premier League titles during his time and stayed in Pep Guardiola’s good books.
Clutch moment number 1
Even though Stones isn’t a regular starter at Manchester City this season, he’s been involved in some of their most dramatic moments in the 24/25 Premier League season so far.
The Englishman made an incredible impact in his side’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season by ‘saving’ them from a potentially damning defeat to the 10-man Gunners.
Stones came on towards the final stretch of the match and showcased his quality in attacking set-pieces.
He produced a clutch finish from close range to help score an equalizer in the 98th minute, breaking the Arsenal players’ hearts and ensuing a heated finish to the match.
Clutch moment number 2
But it’s almost like Stones felt that his heroics against Arsenal was not enough.
Fast-forward a few weeks and the centre-back saw his side being frustrated by a resilient Wolves side at the Molineux Stadium.
Stones was left in a bad position as the hosts took the lead through Jorgen Strand Larsen early on before Josko Gvardiol scored an amazing equalizer to bring things level in the first half.
The Cityzens kept pushing forward for a winner in the second half. But Erling Haaland just could not get at the end of anything, while the likes of Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan lacked that special spark with their final delivery.
Heading into the final bits of the match, Manchester City’s rivals were convinced that they were bound to drop points and slip up in the Premier League title race.
But then John Stones happened.
Manchester City received a corner in added-time that was swung in by Phil Foden, and Stones managed to outjump every single player to divert a bullet header past the excellent Jose Sa.
The goal was initially chalked off, causing dismay for the Manchester City players. But then VAR were convinced that Bernardo Silva did not directly or intentionally influence the goal, granting Stones his 18th career goal for the Cityzens to win them the match.
He’s even being hailed as surprise replacement for Rodri, not in terms of his positioning, but in terms of scoring clutch goals or coming up with vital contributions whenever Manchester City needs him.
Jack Grealish’s Praise for John Stones
But the best bit of praise that Stones probably received was from his teammate Jack Grealish after the Wolves game.
Grealish praised Stones on his Instagram profile by commenting ‘The Real Rolls Royce’ on the centre-back post celebrating the win.
This doesn’t only come off as the ultimate compliment, but also a discreet dig at Arsenal defender William Saliba.
The French defender has been hailed as ‘Rolls Royce Saliba’ by the Gunners’ fanbase in recent years for being a commanding and reliable figure in their backline.
But with Stones’ heroics against Wolves coming literally a day after Saliba was sent off in Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League, Grealish’ comment is definitely a cheeky double-edge sword.
Jack probably also took a swipe at his former teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko, who had hailed Saliba as ‘Rolls Royce’ in an interview with Rio Ferdinand last year.