As per report from The Sun, England international defender John Stones is set for a reunion with David Moyes at West Ham, with the Hammers leapfrogging Arsenal in race for his signature.
It has been revealed that the Hammers are planning to lodge a £20million bid for the 25-year-old defender who’s going through a torrid period in his career at Manchester City.
Former Everton defender John Stones joined Manchester City in 2016, for an initial £47.5 million with add-ons, after enjoying a four-year spell at Everton.
Stone is known for his technical ability and physical presence, and he’s celebrated for being a ball-playing centre back. Teammates and coaches have praised his composure with the ball, defensive skills, range of passing, vision and versatility.
He immediately made an impact upon joining Manchester City, featuring in over 125 games; winning the Premier League in 2018 and 2019, the EFL Cup in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and the FA Cup in 2019 thus far for the club.
Joleon Lescott said of his ability: “John can do things most defenders can’t, a little feign here and there, maybe a turn to get out of trouble when he needs to, and that’s what is going to set him apart from others; the ability to do things others can’t. He’ll do his job and defend well, but there will be moments when he does something special and you’ll just go ‘ah, that’s why he’s regarded as the best.’ He doesn’t seem to get fazed by anything and always seems calm and he never hides.”
Manchester City and England teammate Kyle Walker added,“You don’t quite appreciate him until you are playing alongside him. He rarely gets beat, he is great on the ball and he is very calm and level-headed.”
He developed his ball-playing style early in his career with many crediting Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola for his later development.
Unfortunately at some point this season, Manchester City’s boss Pep Guardiola had preferred to deploy a midfielder (Fernandinho) at the back instead of starting the England international defender; an act which would have affected Stones’ confidence and moral.
With Manchester City’s boss having to deputise a midfielder while leaving a fit John Stones on the bench, this would have sent a signal to the 25-yrs-old defender that he’s no more seen in the future plan of the manager and a way out of Etihad might be considered if an opportunity arises.
At this point, a move away from Etihad seems to be the best option available for John Stones to regain his earlier form and status of being one of England’s best generational defender after the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand and a move to the Hammers to reunite with his former boss that ended him his senior Toffees debut will no doubt be an avenue to get his career back on track.
