John Stones is set to move to Manchester City for a record £50million and terms could be finalised as soon as the end of the week.
City re-opened talks with Everton over the England defender after the Merseyside club rejected a £40m bid earlier this month.The £50m deal will be a record transfer fee for an English player, edging out Raheem Sterling’s £49m switch from Liverpool to Manchester City.
Everton are resigned to losing 22-year-old Stones, who has told the club he wants to leave Goodison Park for the Etihad.
However, they insist that City must raise their offer to £50m, having turned down a proposal to take striker Wilfried Bony — who shares the same agent as Stones — in part exchange.City are now preparing a revised offer for Stones, who made his first pre-season appearance since Euro 2016 against MK Dons on Tuesday night, and are increasingly optimistic that a deal will be done.
Personal terms will not hold up an agreement, while Everton manager Ronald Koeman told Stones’s representatives last week the player should decide whether to stay or go as soon as possible.
Speaking before the friendly against Borussia Dortmund, City boss Pep Guardiola said: ‘I think by August 31 we will have the right players to play the way we want.’
Guardiola is keen to strengthen his defence and will also consider a move for Juventus defender Leo-nardo Bonucci if he feels that City captain Vincent Kompany’s injury problems will keep him out for a significant portion of the season.
Guardiola is a long-time admirer of Bonucci but Juve have put a prohibitive £50m valuation on the Italy international to ward off interest from the Premier League, and City are unlikely to pay that much for a player who will turn 30 in nine months’ time.
‘The pitch was unacceptable,’ he said. ‘We don’t travel to China just for a holiday or for a training session. We come here for a little bit of training but to play two friendly games.
‘It was the first time we cancelled so maybe it was a lesson for the people who organise it. For them, the pitch doesn’t matter and the pitch is the most important thing.
‘They are looking for good hotels and inviting players, but if we can’t play on the pitch then it doesn’t matter. Nobody took care of it. Our greenkeeper was here for 10 days to take care of it.
‘It was not about the water or the last rain, it was about the people here who didn’t think it mattered about the pitch and the situation for the players.
‘Believe me, you play on some fields in a really bad condition in your career as a player and a coach but that pitch three days ago was impossible.
‘It’s not about avoiding injury, it’s for the fans. They paid to see us play but at the end they would have said, “What is that?”, because it wasn’t acceptable. So we cancelled. It was the right move.’
10 Most expensive English players
£49m Raheem Sterling (Liverpool to Man City, 2015)
£35m Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool, 2011)
£30m Luke Shaw (Southampton to Man Utd, 2014)
£29.1m Rio Ferdinand (Leeds to Man United, 2002)
£27m Wayne Rooney (Everton to Man United, 2004)
£26m James Milner (Aston Villa to Man City, 2010)
£25m Adam Lallana (Southampton to Liverpool, 2014)
£24.5m David Beckham (Man Utd to Real Madrid, 2003)
£24m Darren Bent (Sunderland to Aston Villa, 2011)
£22m JOLEON LESCOTT (Everton to Man City, 2009)
£221m
Signing John Stones for £50m would take City’s total spending on transfer fees alone in the past 12 months to £221m – Daily Mail