Ahead of Man City's trip to Monaco on Wednesday evening, Eamon Dunphy has given a typically blunt view on the future prospects of £47.5m summer signing John Stones.
Much has been made about Stones' failings under Pep Guardiola at City, but while many pundits have been critical of his performances over the course of the season, most have suggested that he has time to grow and possesses all the tools to make it as a top player at a big club.
Dunphy, however, did not offer Stones' that hope as he outlined his belief that his defending is not good enough, and that players playing in the Leinster Senior league would have better defensive instincts in the situation Stones found himself in against Falcao as the Colombian scored that delightful chip in the first leg.
He opened his argument with the suggestion that Stones isn't a good defender, and never will be.
“He’s a bad defender” “He’ll never, ever be a good defender” “22 is old” - Eamon Dunphy is is hammering John Stones tonight #sticksandstones pic.twitter.com/TV79HT9rnq
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 15, 2017
I don't think you can save anybody like John Stones, he'll never, ever be a good defender.
Ouch.
His argument, that the main priority for a defender should be defending first and foremost, is certainly a valid one, but few would make the point like Dunphy did for risk of Stones developing into a commanding defender and proving him wrong.
But that's clearly not something that bothers Eamon, as if we didn't know that from the careers of Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Carrick to name two high-profile examples.
While the likes of Phil Neville are adamant that Stones will grow into a world beater, RTÉ's main man is having absolutely none of it.
