City in talks with Everton over Stones

MANCHESTER CITY have opened discussions with Everton over signing England defender John Stones, according to reports.

City are currently in China on their pre-season tour but continue to be linked with a series of bigmoney transfers, with the Toffees centre-half said to be top of their list.

Leonardo Bonucci, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus and Marlos Moreno were all said to be City targets yesterday, but various reports suggested they are closer to bringing i n Stones.

Stones, 22, has previously been coveted by Chelsea but new City boss Pep Guardiola is giving close attention to his back four given Vincent Kompany’s injury record and uncertainty over Eliaquim Mangala’s future.

Everton would value Stones at up to £50 million in the current climate, with fees significantly inflated since last summer when he was rated at £40m.

There was no response from Everton last night, though Guardiola had talked about his defence in Shenzhen earlier in the day

hile Stones was not mentioned by name, Guardiola described his preferred centre-half as one who could bring the ball out from the back before making a transparent reference to the transfer window.

“We need to create good build-up play, with easy passes in midfield, to achieve good passes for our strikers further up the pitch,” he said.

“I believe when the ball goes from a central defender to a striker, the ball comes back as quickly as it goes, and we have to make it clear that we are building up in our first process, whether that is defenders or midfielders.

“That is why we need players of quality, to play in that style, and we have the players to do that.

“By August 31, we will have the right players to play the way we want.”