John Stones will return to Everton tomorrow for the first time since his £47 million summer move to Manchester City a richer, but not necessarily better, player than he was when he used to wear a darker shade of blue.

Stones continues to make mistakes, continues to divide opinion, yet he remains indulged. At Everton, it was the club’s former manager, Roberto Martínez, who saw past the errors and called him world class. At City, it is Pep Guardiola who believes the 22-year-old will one day become one of the finest centre-backs in the world.

They may well be right. Stones has the potential to become a master of his art, but he remains a work in progress and Everton supporters, still sore that he left – regardless of the size of the fee they received – will mercilessly remind him of that fact. They will hope to goad him into a blunder.

Guardiola is confident the abuse will have no impact on Stones’s state of mind, but even if he did suffer on his first return to Goodison Park, the Spaniard will continue to praise, protect and persevere.