One Manchester City player previously thought to be up for sale ahead of the summer is seemingly in Pep Guardiola’s plans for next season.
There’s several players at the Etihad facing an uncertain summer ahead, with some players’ cases being more straight-forward than others. Albeit, none seem set in stone right now.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne is tipped to leave Manchester City in the summer after what’s been a fairly dreadful season for the 33-year-old. But in an ode to the uncertainty around his and City’s summer ahead, it’s reported that De Bruyne is desperate to stay, in a bid to play in the 2026 World Cup.
Likewise, midfield partner Ilkay Gundogan faces an uncertain few months at the Etihad with his contract set to expire. City do hold an option to extend his stay by a further year, following his return last summer, but we’ve been informed that Gundogan wants to play for Galatasaray before his time is up.
Another name who falls into the category of uncertainty is John Stones.
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Pep Guardiola makes John Stones transfer U-turn at Man City
Stones is currently injured and it looks like he could face a few more weeks on the sidelines yet. The 30-year-old centre-back last played against Real Madrid in the Champions League and has been left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers.
Earlier in the year, it was revealed that Man City were set to offload Stones in the summer transfer window. But speaking to the press ahead of the Brighton game on Saturday, Guardiola confirmed – be it on purpose or not – that Stones will be at the Etihad for next season.
The City boss said: “Next season, John [Stones] will be there, Nathan [Ake], Manu [Akanji] will be fine, Rodri will recover perfectly, Oscar [Bobb] will be back… Do we buy three more holding midfielders, seven more central defenders?! It’s not about that. It’s just be lucky, take right decisions. Sometimes we don’t do that and pray.”
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Man City fans have made up their minds on John Stones
Stones, who earns £200,000-a-week at City, per Salary Sport, remains under contract until the summer of 2026.
But the former Barnsley and Everton man has struggled with injuries in the last several seasons, not just this season where he’s only managed 11 Premier League games for the Cityzens.
Since moving to the Etihad in 2016, Stones has racked up an impressive 277 total appearances for the club. But Man City fans think the club needs to sell Stones as he’s too consistently injured and unavailable for selection.
That, and he earns a lot of money which could arguably be better spent elsewhere, on multiple players or a new marquee centre-back signing.
