Sam Lee, the Manchester City correspondent for The Athletic, has been discussing John Stones during a recent episode of Why Always Us?
Stones joined the club from Everton back in the summer of 2016 in a deal reportedly worth £50.04m (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk). Since his arrival, the 26-year-old has played 133 times for the Manchester-based outfit, scoring five goals along the way.
The defender was limited to just 16 Premier League appearances last season, but he did spend some time on the sidelines due to injury. When discussing those likely to be in the boss’ plans for next season, Lee named Stones as one of the players whose Manchester City future is in doubt. Here is what he had to say:
“I know Stones has done a couple of social media posts saying, ‘Love it here, can’t wait for next season’ or whatever, but the only way that Stones carries on next season is if nobody makes a good enough offer, because [Pep] Guardiola clearly doesn’t trust him – that shouldn’t even be a controversial thing to say.”
Would you be looking to sell John Stones during this window?
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TIF Thoughts…
The England international’s average performance rating in the top-flight last season was a slightly underwhelming 6.68/10 according to WhoScored.com, although he did only play a relatively low number of games. He was ranked as the 20th-highest-rated Manchester City player in the Premier League for the 2019/20 campaign.
Lee suggested that if the right offer were to come in for the centre-back, City wouldn’t hesitate to move him on. According to Transfermarkt.co.uk, the player is currently valued at £27m and therefore, we could assume that is the kind of figure the club’s hierarchy may be looking for in order to sanction a move for the Barnsley-born defender.