Man City's £47.5m man is repaying Pep Guardiola in a way no one expected in Premier League race

It should not come as news to Manchester City supporters - or any football fans for that matter - that John Stones is a very good footballer. After enduring some up-and-down years at City, the Barnsley-born centre-back enjoyed a terrific campaign last season that saw him form a solid partnership with new recruit Ruben Dias.

Stones was so good that he managed to keep Aymeric Laporte - a defender incredibly well-thought of by Pep Guardiola - out of the City team. Circumstances change quickly in football though and Stones has seen his game time decrease this term. However, now he is proving his worth in a very different way to last season.

Stones has only started nine of City's Premier League games this season, but thanks to a hamstring injury picked up by Dias during the FA Cup win at Peterborough earlier this month, he has regained his spot in the side. Playing back-up is nothing new for Stones, but this season he has handled what is probably a frustrating situation better than ever before.

READ MORE: Liverpool FC celebrate Man City blank but Pep Guardiola was right to make controversial call

In the three games City have played since Dias sustained his injury - a 4-1 win against Manchester United and back-to-back goalless draws with Sporting Lisbon and Crystal Palace - Stones has looked as confident and assured as a defender that has played every available minute this season.

He was at this best during City's frustrating draw at Selhurst Park on Monday, his ability to progress the ball from the back unaffected by Palace's aggressive pressing early on. He appears to have shaken off the mistakes that blighted his early City days, so much so that of City's four senior central defenders he is arguably the most reliable.

What