Manchester City News can exclusively confirm what club sources are saying about John Stones amid increasing speculation over his future.
Manchester City haven’t had a great season by their usual sky-high standards and there’s a lot of work to be done at the Etihad Stadium.
City are expected to be busy in the summer transfer window as they look to reshape their squad, which could mean a number of high-profile departures too.
Kevin De Bruyne is already set to leave City, and now Manchester City News can confirm what the latest is around Stones and several other big players.
Manchester City ready to offload John Stones amid availability worries
Graeme Bailey has told Manchester City News that “there is a worry over John Stones” around the club due to his lack of availability.
And with Stones’ contract only running until next summer, it’s currently “impossible” for City to consider offering him a new one at present.
With that in mind, City are prepared to part company with Stones, and two more big player departures could also be on the cards, according to Bailey.
“There is a worry over John Stones, he has started just half a dozen Premier League games this season,” Bailey told Manchester City News.
“There is no doubting just how high a regard he is held, but as this season has shown – they have been lacking at certain times.
| Competition | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Red cards | Minutes |
| Premier League | 11 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 545′ |
| Champions League | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 364′ |
| League Cup | 2 | – | – | – | – | 180′ |
| FA Cup | 1 | – | – | – | – | 45′ |
| Total 24/25: | 20 | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | 1.134′ |
“They did business in January with Khusanov and Reiss but that has not been a huge success.
“City are going to have a bit of a reset this summer. Kevin De Bruyne is going and he could be followed by the likes of Ederson and Bernardo Silva, there are no guarantees they both stay put.
“And with that Stones could also go, He has just a year left on his deal and as it stands, it is impossible for City to even consider a new one.”
Where could John Stones be playing next season?
Bailey has exclusively told us that “there is interest in England in him, but the Saudi Pro League like him and that could be an option.”
In England, the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham and former club Everton are monitoring Stones.
Stones has been a great servant for City since his £48million move from Everton in 2016, with Pep Guardiola often singing his praises.
In 2017, Guardiola spoke highly about Stones’ personality and character when it comes to playing in his system.
“John Stones has more personality than all of us here together in this room,” Guardiola said in wake of a 1-1 draw with Liverpool in which Guardiola’s tactics were criticised.
“More b—- than everyone here. I like that. I love him. Under pressure, the people criticise him, so I am delighted to have John. With all his huge amount of mistakes.
“I love him. I love guys with this personality.
“Because it’s not easy to play central defender with this manager. It’s not easy. You have to defend 40 metres behind and make the build-up.”
However, all good things must come to an end, with time and tide waiting for nobody, and it looks as though Stones could be next to follow De Bruyne out of the door.
