Barcelona are in talks with Manchester City over a move for John Stones but need to sell Gérard Piqué before they can push ahead.
That’s according to Italian journalist Ciro Venerato, who revealed the potential move to Radio Goal on Kiss Kiss Napoli today.
City are working on overhauling their defence this summer, with that area of the team having proved to be problematic last season.
They have already completed the signing of Nathan Aké from Bournemouth but are targeting a big-money move for Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly as well.
Should they manage to get a deal over the line, likely, they will then look to sell some of their current options, namely John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi.
And according to Venerato, talks are already underway with Barcelona over Stones, with them set for an overhaul themselves this summer.
“City is negotiating with Barcelona to sell Stones,” Area Napoli report him saying.
“To take Stones, Barcelona must sell Piqué, and this is not easy, as they must also participate in paying part of the salary.”
That’s all he has to offer on the potential transfer, failing to offer information on a potential asking price at Manchester City or anything of that nature so we’ll remain dubious at this point.
What is interesting, of course, is that Stones worked with new Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman for a short period at Everton.
The pair’s relationship was only a short one, though, with Koeman arriving at Goodison Park in June 2016 and Stones joining Manchester City in the following August.
That would suggest Koeman knows a little about Stones, although whether that’s enough to make him think he’s an ideal replacement for Piqué remains to be seen.
