Why Man City should resist the temptation of selling John Stones
According to a report from The Sun, Manchester City are considering the possibility of signing Kalidou Koulibaly in the summer. To that end, they are prepared to sell England international John Stones to make room for the new arrival.
The 25-year-old Stones joined Manchester City from Everton in 2016 and currently earns £100,000-a-week in wages. The Englishman was brilliant in his first couple of seasons at the Etihad stadium. However, he has struggled over the past couple of years with injuries hampering his development.
The ongoing campaign has been Stones’ worst in terms of injuries. As a result, his performances have also been affected. Prior to the season being suspended, Stones made just 12 Premier League appearances in 2019/20.
Manchester City’s season so far…
Manchester City’s season has been a slightly disappointing one so far. The Cityzens were blown out of the Premier League title race by Liverpool. While they did win the Carabao Cup and are still in the Champions League, the way they allowed Liverpool to open up a 25-point gap at the top of the league shows there’s a lot of work to be done.
The Sky Blues’ campaign been blighted with defensive problems throughout. The fact that they did not replace former captain and club legend Vincent Kompany has come back to haunt Pep Guardiola’s team on a number of occasions over the course of the season. Moreover, with Aymeric Laporte hardly taking the field due to injuries, City have had issues.
Guardiola has had to use Fernandinho at the heart of the defence on numerous occasions, partnering him with either Stones or the erroneous Nicolas Otamendi. This has hardly yielded the desired outcome for the reigning Premier League champions, making it a necessity to strengthen the heart of the defence heading into the new season.
And at a time when the defence needs strengthening, offloading a player who has proven himself in the past would prove to be counter-productive.
At 25, Stones still has his best years ahead of him. During City’s 2017/18 season, Stones had proved he is capable of handling himself at this level.
If anyone, Guardiola should look to get rid of Nicolas Otamendi instead. The Argentine, at 32, is entering the twilight years of his career and has made numerous mistakes that have cost City this season and before that as well.
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Verdict
It is clear that Manchester City need reinforcements at the back. However, at the same time, they must ensure that they have adequate depth in the squad or they risk stretching themselves thin. To that end, keeping hold of Stones would be the right way to go about things.
At 25, the England international has still plenty left to offer should he rediscover his form from the past seasons.
