Speaking on a recent episode of the Why Always Us? podcast, Sam Lee discussed the situation of Manchester City defender, John Stones.
Arriving at the club from Everton in what was a £50.04 million deal back in 2016, Stone has gone on to feature 135 times for the club, chipping in with five goals and providing two assists along the way.
However, last season, the £22.5 million-rated 26-year-old made just 12 starts in the Premier League, and, earlier this year, it appeared as if the defender’s future at the club was highly in doubt, as Pep Guardiola claimed that he wanted to sign two new centre-backs in the summer transfer window, which he eventually did in Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias.
With fellow City centre-back Eric Garcia being linked with a move to Barcelona, however, it appears that Stones’ potential departure from City was put off, as the England international remained at the club beyond the transfer deadline passing at the start of October, despite the fact that Garcia did not end up leaving the club either.
This situation was something that Lee went into more detail on during a recent episode of the Why Always Us? podcast, in which he stated that City had no choice but to keep the defender.
He said: “Every opportunity [Stones] had in the last chance saloon – he didn’t take. I believe, from piecing together bits of what I heard earlier in the summer, they were going to get rid of him and keep Garcia.
“Then, when Garcia said he wanted to leave, they were like, ‘well, we can’t buy three centre backs, we’ll keep John Stones and Garcia will go’.
“Obviously, in the end, Garcia [didn’t end up going] and they’ve ended up with five centre-backs, which is a not ideal situation.
“People are saying, ‘John Stones wanted to stay and fight for his place’, I don’t think that’s necessarily the case.
“[City] were basically like, ‘well, you’re staying now’. I think, [and] I might be wrong, but it’s not the case [Stones thought], ‘I’m going to stay and fight for my place’. It was more like, ‘you’re just staying’. That’s it.”
Do you think Stones deserves another chance in the City team?
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TIF Thoughts on Sam Lee’s comments regarding the situation of John Stones…
From Lee’s comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the belief that the fact Stones is still currently a Manchester City player is not down to the player stating his desire to the club that he would like to remain and try to earn a place back in the team, but rather that it was simply a result of a number of different circumstances.
So, if Lee is to be believed, it would not be surprising to see the club attempts to move Stones on in January, or perhaps next summer.