Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City staff are considering whether to ask John Stones to play as a holding midfielder more regularly this season.

Stones enjoyed a superb summer playing in the middle of England’s back three at the World Cup and excelled again as Aymeric Laporte’s partner in City’s back four in the Community Shield victory over Chelsea.

Guardiola pushed Stones forwards into midfield when Vincent Kompany was introduced for the final 10 minutes and was encouraged by his brief performance in the position.

It is understood that Guardiola and his staff have been giving serious thought to using Stones in midfield at certain stages of this season after missing out on Jorginho, who joined Chelsea.

Rather than switching to another midfield target after Jorginho decided to move to Stamford Bridge, Guardiola instead assessed the options he already has in his squad.