Man City made to pay £50m for Stones: Star tells Everton he wants move with bid imminent
MANCHESTER CITY will have to pay £50m to sign John Stones after he told Everton he wants to leave.
By
PAUL JOYCE
PUBLISHED: 22:30, Fri, Jul 1, 2016 | UPDATED: 22:32, Fri, Jul 1, 2016
GETTY
John Stones failed to appear for England at Euro 2016 despite being selected in the squad
The centre-back favours a move to the Etihad and City are prepared to deliver the 22-year-old for new manager Pep Guardiola and will not baulk at making him Britain’s most expensive defender.
A firm bid is imminent with contact between the clubs already established and the prospect of an auction developing now seems unlikely with Stones keen to work with Guardiola.
Stones was denied a move to Chelsea last summer with
Everton rejecting a series of bids which went up to £35m.
The TV money pouring into the Premier League means his valuation has risen since then despite a difficult season at club level and his failure to play a single minute at Euro 2016 for England, and Everton are determined to hold out for £50m.
It is the same fee Paris Saint-Germain lavished on David Luiz when recruiting him from Chelsea and would comfortably outstrip the £34m Manchester United spent on Rio Ferdinand in 2002 – the current British record for a defender.
City will begin by making a lower bid, but will be mindful Everton chairman Bill Kenwright is one of the best negotiators in the business and the Merseyside club are now bolstered by new major shareholder Farhad Moshiri.
New Everton manager Ronald Koeman said he would try to persuade Stones to remain at Goodison Park, but the player’s heart is set on leaving.
It was an open secret in the England camp that Stones wanted to join Joe Hart and Raheem Sterling at City and he will hope to secure his move in the next three weeks to ensure he does not have to report back to Everton for pre-season training.
The fee would represent a massive profit for Everton, who paid Barnsley £3m for Stones in January 2013 when David Moyes was manager.
City have signed Spain forward Nolito from Celta Vigo on a four-year contract.
The 29-year-old, who played all four games in Spain’s Euro 2016 campaign, scored 39 goals in 103 appearances for Celta in 2013 after spells at Granada, Benfica and Barcelona.
Guardiola has already signed Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy from sister club Melbourne City and Ilkay Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund.
“I’ll do everything the manager asks of me, try my absolute best and do everything I can to try to repeat the form I’ve shown throughout my career,” said Nolito.
“It’s just about trying to play my normal game and let’s hope that I can help Manchester City to win games. Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers in the world. He knows a lot about the game and he’s going to help me progress as a player and I’m sure he’ll get the best out of me.”
Defender Martin Demichelis has left City after his contract expired.
