Wolves Land John Stones in Mega-Swap Deal
John Stones failed to truly reach his potential at Manchester City. After completing a nearly £50M transfer to the Manchester club in 2016, Stones was expected to become their talisman at the back, drawing comparisons to the great Rio Ferdinand for his ball playing ability at center-back and technical prowess. It was not to be, however. Stones failed to truly cement a place for himself and over time was replaced by superior signings in the likes of Aymeric Laporte and more recently Alessio Romagnoli. With the path to the starting XI closed at City, the young Englishman ventured off to Valencia to revamp his career.
And he has done exactly that. Stones has established himself over the last couple of seasons as one of the best defenders in LaLiga, guiding Valencia to Champions League qualification for two consecutive seasons. Now England's prodigal son is looking to make a return to his native country. With Manchester City no longer on the cards, Stones instead has decided to move to a club that has taken over as the new powerhouse in the country, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves have come through with a massive package for the 26-year-old center-back, exchanging the services of Joe Gomez in addition to a £38 million fee for the player. Stones will come in on a £71K per week wage, making him one of the highest earners at the club. Because the transfer window is closed, Stones will not join Wolves until the summer, instead playing out the rest of the season with Valencia, who were actually eliminated from the Champions League by Wolves a few short weeks ago.
This is a major statement transfer from Wolves. Not only that they have ambition to become the best club in Europe, but also that they are willing to invest big in English talent while doing so.