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Romelu Lukaku explains John Stones’ poor play

By Rucker Haringey

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: John Stones of Everton takes a throw in during the Capital One Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Manchester City and Everton at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: John Stones of Everton takes a throw in during the Capital One Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Manchester City and Everton at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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Everton forward Romelu Lukaku thinks teammate John Stones is feeling the pressure from Romero Funes Mori and Phil Jagielka

Everton centre back John Stones has been the subject of a bevy of transfer rumors all season long. Some claim the interest from other clubs has affected his play this season, but teammate Romelu Lukaku believes his struggles are more a product of pressure from the team’s other centre backs trying to knock him out of the staring 11.

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The star centre forward was quoted in the Liverpool Echo with saying that Stones “is going through a period now because he knows (Romero) Funes Mori is knocking on the door and (Phil Jagielka) Jags is doing great.”  If John Stones is concerned with losing his job to one of those two men, perhaps he isn’t ready for a big money move to another Premier League club.

There is no question that Stones has been off his game, particularly as of late. He’s coming off one of his worst performances of the season in Everton’s 2-1 loss to Swansea. His Whoscored.com player rating for the year is only 6.93 which puts him slightly below the Premier League average for his position.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that his poor play has been a big reason that Everton hasn’t been able to have the type of season they’d hoped for. The Toffees have scored enough goals to crack the Premier League’s top four, but their defense has had more holes than Swiss cheese. Manager Roberto Martinez went into the season thinking he didn’t need to worry about his centre back pairing.

Instead, Phil Jagielka missed a run of games with injury, and Stones just hasn’t been himself. Some pundits have been quick to place blame on Funes Mori, who’s been Jagielka’s fill-in, but that’s simply not accurate.

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I had my doubts about Funes Mori filling in for Jagielka, but he’s held up incredibly well. His Whoscored.com player rating of 7.3 far exceeds Stones’ mark. He might not be quite as consistent as Jagielka at the back of the Everton defense, but he’s performed admirably in his absence.

I do think it’s fair to say that some of Stones’ issues do arise from playing alongside a new partner in Funes Mori though. That’s not a criticism of the Argentine defender at all. It’s simply a comment that anytime a centre back has to adjust to a new running mate there’s going to be a period of adjustment.

Related Story: Is Roberto Martinez losing it?

No matter what the reasoning behind Stones’ struggles, getting him on track should be Martinez’s biggest priority. If the Toffees are going to make a charge up the Premier League table, they’re going to need their star centre back at his best.

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