Stones still a gem for Tuchel

Plus BBC, Cunha and 3Up campaign

The sight of John Stones in Spain with England is a very clear indication that Thomas Tuchel would like to take him to the World Cup next summer. That’s the only possible explanation for Stones’ unexpected but popular arrival in Barcelona.

John Stones and Harry Kane. Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images.

Pictures of Stones walking around the paddock of the Spanish Grand Prix with England players surprised a few Manchester City fans, who felt he should be at home continuing his rehabilitation from injury. Stones has not played since February 19 when he limped off eight minutes into City’s second leg of their Champions League play-off with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. The FA says Stones has joined the squad “for a number of days in Spain to continue his rehabilitation from injury”.

With respect to the facilities England will enjoy in Barcelona and Girona, they are unlikely to compare with those at the Etihad Campus. City are not training at the moment, it’s international week, so Stones may simply be building up his fitness. He can then either go to the Club World Cup or prepare for next season either at City or, in all likelihood, elsewhere. He was linked with a return to Everton over the weekend.

Any decision over Stones would have been made only following consultation between England’s and City’s medical departments, and between Tuchel and Pep Guardiola. Maybe the feeling is a change of scenery would be good for Stones. One thing is very clear: how highly Tuchel regards Stones.

Tuchel likes experience. Stones has 83 caps, has been to England’s last five tournaments, and even captained the team. He turned 31 last week. So why has Tuchel brought him in? It could signal Tuchel’s concerns about England centre-halves, currently Levi Colwill, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa and Trevoh Chalobah (16 caps between them) and with Marc Guehi (23 caps) out with a vision issue.

Or, more significantly, Tuchel believes Stones is the answer to England’s vexed No 6 problem. Not since Kalvin Phillips had that fantastic year in 2021, or back to Owen Hargreaves or Michael Carrick days, have England had a natural shielding midfield player to call upon. Declan Rice, as he showed increasingly with Arsenal, is more attacking. Arsenal have brought Martin Zubimendi to sit behind him.

Stones, the “Barnsley Busquets”, can play that 6 role, and would have been ideal cover for the injured Rodri this season had he himself been fitter. Stones is comfortable in possession, can take the ball on the half-turn, thread passes through, and was outstanding in midfield against Real in the first leg before dropping into defence when Nathan Ake got injured.

After a month out over Christmas and New Year, Stones was eased back from a muscular problem with two substitute appearances and then started five games in 20 days (plus a half in the FA Cup). It was still odd that Stones was not withdrawn when City were 3-0 up at half-time at home to Newcastle on February 15. He played the full 90 minutes. Four days later came that early withdrawal from the fray at Real. Stones is a precious talent but increasingly brittle. If he can stay fit, Stones starts for England whether at centre-back or as a 6. It’s a big “if” but one that Tuchel seems to be taking a gamble on.

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I always wondered why the BBC bought the Champions League highlights. Are people going to tune into watch the highlights show when they’ve seen the match live, and highlights are rolling from seconds after the goal/incident? Go on the BBC website and it’s immediately clear why they bought rights to the highlights. Clips. Everywhere. They’ve diced and sliced the Champions League final. The website currently has five videos, lasting up to three minutes, plus 10 what they call “bite-sized” clips ranging from six seconds to 30, including one involving American YouTuber iShowSpeed. Some clips are pretty shallow but the Nedum Onuoha analysis clip was insightful. The problem the BBC has is that fans’ ubiquitous YouTube content is so informed and informative that they can struggle to bring something new, beyond footage. So more Onuoha, less IShowSpeed, please.

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Matheus Cunha fits into Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system as one of the two No 10s. He’s a good signing. For £62.5m, Cunha will bring goals and assists (15/6 for Wolves in the Premier League last season). The Brazilian will bring some belief and an ability to progress the ball into the final third (dribbling). Bruno Fernandes will be the other No 10 unless he gets sold to Al Hilal. It’s too much of a risk fielding a defensively undisciplined player like Fernandes any deeper. That’s been exposed this season.

But where does that leave Mason Mount? The £55m signing is starting to show glimmers of his old talent and more prolonged availability. He’s a No 10. Where does that leave Amad Diallo? He’s not a right wing-back. He doesn’t have the defensive strengths. He’s a winger shoehorned into a 10 role anyway. Where does that leave Kobbie Mainoo? He’s considered best in a more advanced midfield role. And where does that leave Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Antony. None are 10s. None are wanted by Amorim. And where is a more reliable No 9? Cunha can play at centre-forward, and demonstrated that at Wolves, but it negates some of his strengths, running from deeper. Cunha is a start in the rebuild. But so much more work is required on incoming and outgoings.

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It’s crazy to look at what Oldham Athletic and Southend United have been through in recent years. Both stared into the abyss. Both drawn back from the brink by passionate supporters. There were 52,115 at Wembley for the National League play-off final between the pair. There would probably have been 65,000 had the authorities been more flexible over ticketing. It’s crazy to think that’s for a non-League match. It’s been said here before, and I’ll say it again, the sooner the EFL agrees to three up, three down, the better the League Two/National League balance will be. And fairer.

It’s not as if teams promoted from the National League go straight back down. Of the last five National League teams promoted by the play-offs, Bromley finished 11^th of 24 in League Two last season, preceded by Notts County 14^th, Grimsby 11^th, Hartlepool United 17^th and Harrogate 17^th. Hartlepool survived that one season before going back down. But the last League Two table showed Notts in 6^th, Grimsby 9^th, Bromley 11^th and Harrogate 18^th. The #3UP campaign is right.

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Enjoy the week. I’m off to Barcelona today. I’ll be covering England’s trip, hoping to watch Stones freely, and working on a book project which started out in 2023 as one book but’s escalated into a three-parter.