Man City set to open contract talks with reinvented defender

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Manchester City’s hierarchy are set to open contract renewal talks with in-form centre-back John Stones.

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Stones, 26, has been at City since 2016 when he made a £50.4m move from Everton, as per Transfermarkt.

Despite arriving with a huge price-tag and being tipped to become one of the country’s most technically gifted centre-backs, Stones has struggled through large parts over the last five-years.

A series of individual errors and inconsistent performances have seen the Englishman struggle to nail down a first-team place in Pep Guardiola’s plans.

However, throughout the 2020-21 season and now partnered alongside Portuguese defender Ruben Dias who arrived last summer, Stones is enjoying arguably his best spell in a light-blue shirt.

After featuring in 13 Premier League matches so far this season, Stones’ impressive turnaround in form has had a huge hand in seeing his side become odds on favourites to lift the title.

In light of the 26-year-old’s reinvention, according to a recent report from The Times, City are now set to open contract talks in an attempt to tie the defender down beyond 2022.

It has been claimed the Citizens are preparing to begin talks in the summer, once the current season comes to an end.

Despite being available for sale last summer, the defender’s impressive form has now seen him become a candidate to see his contract renewed.

We reported last year that the English defender had been offered to Chelsea for just £30m, however, after rejecting their approaches, the Blues’ loss appears to City’s gain.

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