Explosive Man City report claims Stones is ‘very unhappy’ at Guardiola, with future ‘up in the air’

John Stones is reportedly ‘very unhappy’ that he’s not being picked at Manchester City currently, and is concerned that he could lose his place in the England starting line-up as a result.

Stones has been a fixture of both the City and Three Lions sides for some time. Since making his England debut in 2014, when he was still an Everton player, the centre-back has racked up 71 caps for his country.

The majority of those have come since he moved to the Etihad in 2016, where he has ascended towards the very top of the list of the world’s best defenders.

In the last three major international tournaments, Stones has missed just over an hour of football, highlighting his centrality to the Three Lions side.

England have found themselves nearing success in two of those three tournaments – they reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, before being defeated as finalists in EURO 2020.

The upcoming European Championships represents a chance for them to finally take that next step, as they’re going into the tournament as favourites.

However, Stones might not be one of the figures who leads his country to glory.

That could owe to the fact that he’s being benched by Manchester City currently. Indeed, the defender has played just 111 minutes in City’s last eight league games despite being fit.

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Stones ‘very unhappy’ at Man City role

According to Football Insider, the defender is ‘very unhappy’ at losing his role despite the fact he is able to play.

Stones was injured for the first seven games of the Premier League season, but while he’s been available for most of the campaign since then, he’s managed just 16 appearances, and only 12 of those came from the start.

Indeed, the report suggests there are concerns that continually being sidelined at club level could mean he’s no longer seen as a starter by Gareth Southgate for England.

Stones played both of the Three Lions’ last two games, which suggests his place should be safe for now, but if the manager does not feel he’s up to scratch after failing to get on the field much at club level, he could swap him out for another defender.

Stones’ future ‘up in the air

As a result of his lack of regular minutes, the report states Stones’ City future is ‘up in the air’.

The Englishman has had a great deal of success with the reigning Premier League champions, picking up 16 trophies, but he won’t want to waste away on the sidelines when he could be playing elsewhere.

He’s under contract until 2026, so it’s unlikely any big decisions will be made soon.

But if he remains unhappy, there seems a chance, though a slim one right now, that Stones could push for the exit.

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