In recent comments made on The Athletic, the website’s Manchester City correspondent, Sam Lee, discussed the future of City defender, John Stones.
Since moving to Manchester City from Everton for a fee of £50.04million back in 2016, Stones has gone on to play 129 fixtures for the club, scoring five goals and providing two assists, winning two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and three League Cups.
However, the 26-year-old centre-back has struggled somewhat so far this season, featuring in the starting XI of City’s Premier League fixtures just 32% of the time.
And, while some of these absences have been due to injury, Pep Guardiola has also given a reason for not selecting Stones – by openly questioning the defender’s mentality.
The Spaniard has also favoured playing central midfielder Fernandinho in the heart of City’s defence ahead of Stones multiple times this season, as well as stating that he is looking for two new centre-backs ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
And, when questioned on Stones’ future at the club, The Athletic’s Manchester City correspondent Sam Lee had this to say on the 26-year-old:
“I wouldn’t say Stones is a sure-fire to leave – but I think that’s because he’s homegrown, which is important – but mainly because who would pay the kind of money City would want for him? And what would that be? In this environment, that’s going to be even harder than it would’ve been imagined in February.
“I think he’ll get a chance when he’s back [from injury], as a clean slate, but I do wonder if these few weeks will act as his final chance – I always thought the final chance would’ve been next season, but if he can’t get his head right after that kind of break (and the rest seem to have) then he might never, or at least never enough to play for City.
“I think in an ideal world (well, an ideal world would be him fulfilling his vast potential) but in the case that they still have doubts about him, then the ideal scenario would be to sell him and [Nicolás] Otamendi and bring two new defenders in. That may well be the plan.”
TIF Thoughts…
It would appear that, from his comments, Lee believes that the remainder of City’s fixtures this season could prove to determine whether or not Stones remains at the club beyond this summer.
However, he does also state that the impact of the pandemic on the economy of football clubs could be another factor that sees Stones stay, as it would appear unlikely that, in the current climate, City would receive anywhere near the £32.4million market valuation of the defender.
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As such, it will certainly be interesting to see whether Stones features for City throughout the remainder of their games this term, and whether his performances can convince Guardiola that he deserves another shot in the centre of City’s defence.