John Stones

[Tez Tosterone]

Richards30.

You are correct - no doubt about that Koulibaly is the best defender current playing in Serie A. Better even than those in the Juve defence.

if Everton sign him for the reported €45m (£37.5m) it would for them be an upgrade on Stones and they would be in pocket!!

 

[BlueDejong]

 

[Jazzman]

Richards30.

You are correct - no doubt about that Koulibaly is the best defender current playing in Serie A. Better even than those in the Juve defence.

if Everton sign him for the reported €45m (£37.5m) it would for them be an upgrade on Stones and they would be in pocket!!

Why is City not in for this Koulibaly bloke when he is that good?

 

[117 M34]

Everton linked with mata a lot.
Could we offer nasri to everton as part of stones deal if pep thinks we can manage without him?

 

[nmc]

Why is City not in for this Koulibaly bloke when he is that good?

Probably why Everton are holding onto Stones until they get this deal with Napoli done. On the basis that Napoli are owned by Aurelio De Laurentiis a drama queen; and fully fledged fruit cake to boot this one could take some time - and probably not for the figures quoted.

 

[Proy]

The wisdom on the thread seems to be that we could be in for them both, Stones and Bonucci. This is based on rumour, and many forumites wanting to see the back of Mangala.

Fwiw, I'd say the Stones rumour is more likely. It's debatable which is the best buy, due to age and ability/potential. I'd go for Bonucci, as the more proven player, though Stones is very good. If we're going for potential, I'd rather we developed our own.

This pales into insignificance if Pep wants Stones.

I'd have to question the logic of whoever decided to buy both Mangala and Otamendi.

Not that I'm overly bothered, but it does puzzle me. Sometimes buys don't work out, but to get 2 over 2 consecutive summers is quite an achievement.

I'd usually say stick with who we have, I rate Otamendi and I think Mangala will be half decent somewhere, but neither are Pep players. Neither are comfortable with the ball and like Delph I can see the pair of them departing this summer.

 

[BringBackSwales]

Why is City not in for this Koulibaly bloke when he is that good?

Might it be because Pep Guardiola prefers John Stones to him and thinks he is a better player and a better fit to his system perhaps?

 

[bumbleblue]

Why is City not in for this Koulibaly bloke when he is that good?

Probably because our foreign player quota is full to the brim whereas our Home grown /club trained isn't AND I assume Pep thinks he can coach Stones to eventually be better.

 

[Danamy]

Richards30.

You are correct - no doubt about that Koulibaly is the best defender current playing in Serie A. Better even than those in the Juve defence.

if Everton sign him for the reported €45m (£37.5m) it would for them be an upgrade on Stones and they would be in pocket!!

He's not on the same wavelength as Stones, Stones is an intelligent footballer and hasn't been coached or been put in a system that'll see his potential flourish, Pep's style is hand in glove with the way Stones plays and is the reason he's after him.

Koulibaly also gives too many silly little fouls away and dives in at times for no reason, Otamendi-esque I hasten to add

 

[domalino]

Probably because our foreign player quota is full to the brim whereas our Home grown /club trained isn't AND I assume Pep thinks he can coach Stones to eventually be better.

That's simply untrue.

We have to build the squad around champions league specifications, which make the distinction between club and association trained HG players.

We have 4 association trained players already. If we bought Stones without selling Hart, Sterling, Delph or Clichy, Stones would have to take up one of the 17 non-HG spots in the squad.

The premier league doesn't distinguish between club and association trained HG players but that's irrelevant really - none of our players will or should accept being left out of the CL squad, and it's not exactly going to promote said unity.