Manchester City is reportedly close to signing Everton defender John Stones for £50 million this summer as they are set to outbid English Premier League rivals Manchester United and Chelsea.
The Sun reported that incoming Man City head coach Pep Guardiola is "confident" that the club "has won the £50 million transfer scrap" for the 22-year-old English center back over their more illustrious competitors, the Red Devils and Blues, as the Citizens are currently short on defenders following the release of veteran center back Martin Demichelis earlier this month.
Team captain Vincent Kompany, who also plays center back for the squad, is still sidelined by injury at the moment and there are still no reports about the Belgian's estimated return to the pitch.
Stones almost left Merseyside to transfer to the Stamford Bridge in London last summer when then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho tried to snag him away from Everton. The Toffees remained firm in their decision not to let go of the Barnsley, England native, though, and so they kept him for one more season.
This time, with Mourinho now the head coach of United, the Portuguese mentor is still a fan of the young center back and is rumored to be planning on making an offer for Stones once more this offseason.
Meanwhile, Caught Offside noted that the Stones is "the perfect fit" for Guardiola because of the Englishman's high IQ and skills on the defensive end of the pitch. His "ability on the ball to play out from the back" is said to be highly essential to the former Barça and Bavarian manager.
Everton received three bids from Chelsea last summer - a £20 million, £26 million and £30 million offer - and all were turned down by the Toffees. The 6-foot-2 defender said to have also submitted a request to exit Goodison Park, but it was also denied by the club.
Stones has just finished his third season with the Toffees after he was acquired from Barnsley FC in January 2013 for a reported transfer fee of only £3 million. He spent the second half of the 2012-2013 season as an unused substitute for Everton and made his Premier League debut in August of that year during the following season.
In three years so far with the club, Stones had appeared in 95 games in all competitions and managed to score a single goal during the said time span.