Everton manager Roberto Martinez has claimed that young defender John Stones is ready to even be part of the England team at the World Cup 2014. England have suffered from a lack of strength in depth at the back following the retirement of players like John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has claimed that young defender John Stones is ready to even be part of the England team at the World Cup 2014. England have suffered from a lack of strength in depth at the back following the retirement of players like John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
Right now, England manager Roy Hodgson has had to do with the likes of Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka. If one of them was to be injured, it presents the manager with a lot of problems at the back. Hence, Hodgson has been scouring across the length and breadth of the country in order to come in with a suitable backup.
Stones has gained a lot of media in the last few weeks after doing extremely well with Everton. He has managed to come in place of the injured Jagielka and do extremely well for Martinez, as they target a top four finish since 2005. Despite being only 19 years old, Stones has come in and shown incredible maturity for Everton. He was part of the team that achieved a 3-0 win over top four rivals Arsenal during the weekend. Martinez says that the player now has shown that he is good enough to be in the England squad for the World Cup.
“We spoke in the summer. Remember that John Stones has been in the system of the England set-up for a while now, he’s been highly regarded, in the Under-21s he’s had the captaincy. The performance against Fulham was a reassurance of how much he’s progressing. He’s someone that is going to be a very special centre-half in our football club and I’m sure England will get the reward from that,” said Martinez.
The 19-year-old has made 16 appearances in the league for Everton, who have won the last six league matches.