According to The Sun, West Ham United have leapfrogged Arsenal in the race to sign Manchester City’s John Stones this summer.
The Hammers did well to secure their place in the Premier League this season, but the real test for David Moyes starts now. West Ham need to fare a lot better next summer and a new defender will help them do just that.
The Irons have just Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena as their experienced centre-halves. The former is 32 already, while the latter has started just three times in the league under Moyes this term.
A centre-back will be high on Moyes’ wish list this summer and Stones could be a very good addition. The Hammers boss knows the 26-year-old well, having signed him for Everton from Barnsley back in 2013.
Stones moved to Manchester City for a whopping £47.5 million in 2016 and has won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups and three League Cups since.
The Englishman is now out of favour under Pep Guardiola and the report claims that West Ham can get him for as little as £20 million, less than half what Manchester City paid Everton four years ago.
Arsenal are also allegedly interested in Stones, with Mikel Arteta a big fan of the centre-half. However, the Gunners need to sell before they can buy, which gives West Ham a good opportunity to swoop in the coming weeks.
£20 million for an English centre-back who is still only 26 is a great deal. However, if West Ham don’t wrap the deal up quickly, they could lose him to a bigger club very soon.
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