Thomas Tuchel planned bold positional change for Manchester City star | OneFootball

England boss Thomas Tuchel plotted out a bold positional change for John Stones in his Three Lions set-up prior to the Manchester City man’s withdrawal from duties.

Stones has entered the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium, having expressed his desire to take his Manchester City career into a tenth season amid doubts over his longevity and lingering fitness doubts.

The 31-year-old struggled for consistent minutes last term owing largely to recurring injuries, with all of Manchester City’s centre-halves bar Josko Gvardiol spending time on the sidelines, prompting the club to sanction the signings of Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in January.

Since becoming one of Pep Guardiola’s first signings at Manchester City in 2016, Stones has played a fundamental role in the club’s domination of English football over the years, with Stones still widely held as England’s best centre-back when he is fit.

However, keeping Stones fit and firing has been a tall order over the course of his Manchester City tenure, and the Barnsley-born defender will himself admit he has not reached the levels he was capable of hitting courtesy of his injury record.

Still at 31, Stones has almost another career ahead of him if he can correct his injury record and convince Manchester City and Guardiola to hand him a new deal as he edges closer to the expiration of his current deal in June 2026.

This is a crossroads seasons for Stones – much like Kevin De Bruyne experienced last term – wherein contract talks between Manchester City and the defender’s camp will likely only be tabled when the club are convinced that Stones is performing and can perform to a consistent level that warrants redeeming his services beyond his current deal.

City are well stocked in central defence and it will be interesting to see how Guardiola’s preferred centre-half pairing takes shape in the backdrop of a big summer of revamp within the first-team squad.

Speaking shortly after confirming Stones’ exit from the England camp this week due to a minor muscular issue, England manager Thomas Tuchel offered insight into what he had planned for the Manchester City star over his next two international matches.

“I think he (Stones) would have maybe started as a central defender in this match (against Andorra), but he was in contention for playing number six for us as well”, the German coach said.

“It was in our thoughts to maybe use him (Stones) as a number six against Serbia. But listen, this is how it is. He’s very upset. He’s very upset because he does everything on a daily basis to be fit.”

Tuchel is understood to be a huge admirer of Stones’ ball-playing capabilities – much like Guardiola – and his desire to build his Three Lions squad around Stones ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was clear to see when the former Chelsea manager was in attendance at Manchester City training in August.