Josko Gvardiol has joked that he would not be surprised if one of his teammates at Manchester City ends up becoming a striker.
One of the players at City who such a claim can certainly be made about is Bernardo Silva due to his unrivalled versatility.
Pep Guardiola’s word has been the Portuguese international’s command ever since he joined the club in 2017.
In his first two seasons at the Etihad Stadium, the five-time Premier League winner was exclusively deployed as a right-winger.
During his debut campaign, the former AS Monaco technician did not quite seem like the ideal solution for the Sky Blues on the right flank.
But in his second season, Bernardo Silva, alongside Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero emerged as Manchester City’s best player.
After these two campaigns, Bernardo was asked to play anywhere and everywhere.
Gvardiol jokes Man City star could become a striker one day
For instance, at the Emirates Stadium during City’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, the treble-winner was asked to play as a defensive midfielder for the first time in his spell at the club.
During the 2021/2022 season, the 29-year-old became the side’s go-to number eight.
However, in the 2020/2021 campaign, Bernardo Silva was either used in midfield or as a false nine.
But Gvardiol was not referring to the decorated attacker when he made his comments.
Instead, the Croatian international was mentioning one of his colleagues in defence.
Unsurprisingly, the answer is John Stones, when Josko Gvardiol was asked to describe him using one word.
“I don’t know, I can’t describe him in one word because he’s a bit different. Starting in my position, now he’s in the middle, I guess soon he’s going to be a striker as well.”
“Quality”, he told beIN SPORTS Asia.
In November, Mateo Kovacic claimed that Josko Gvardiol should closely study how John Stones plays, considering they share similar attributes.
Gvardiol is joking but would anyone be surprised if Stones did a job up front?
Of course, Josko Gvardiol was only joking about John Stones playing as a number nine one day.
But in all seriousness, if Stones was asked to play up front and he ended up doing a job, would that come as a surprise?
The Englishman has the physicality to hold up the ball and dominate defenders as a makeshift striker.
The former Everton centre-back is an incredible technician and as a result, the way he receives the ball would be immaculate, likely making his hold-up and link-up play better than one assumes.
If the £50 million man can produce strikes like he did against Borussia Dortmund at home last season, he might have a finish on him as well.
John Stones is such an intelligent player that one would not be surprised if he played at an impressive level as an outfield player across all positions on the pitch.