John Stones

John Stones joined Manchester City from Everton on 9 August 2016. The England international defender penned a six-year deal that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until at least 2022. Stones became City's eighth signing of the 2016 summer transfer window, following in the footsteps of Ilkay Gundogan, Nolito, Aleksandar Zinchenko, Aaron Mooy, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus and Marlos Moreno. The 22-year-old, widely regarded as one of the world's most promising center-backs, spent more than three years at Everton, where he built a reputation as a ball-playing, 21st century defender, equally as adept at neutralizing opposition attacks as launching the first key pass out of the defensive third. Stones represented England at U19, U20 and U21 level before making his senior international debut on 30 May 2014 in a 3-0 friendly victory over Peru at Wembley. He made his competitive debut for the Three Lions in the Euro 2016 qualifying opener against Switzerland, where Roy Hodgson's side got off to the perfect start with a 2-0 away win, and John was included in the squad for the finals this summer. Rising up from the youth ranks at his hometown club Barnsley, Stones went on to make his professional debut for the Tykes against Reading on 17 March 2011, going on to make 28 appearances in total for the South Yorkshire side. A maturity beyond his years was evident in these first steps up the professional ladder, prompting Everton to snap him up on a five-and-a-half-year deal on the final day of the 2013 January transfer window. Stones didn't make his senior debut for the Toffees until the following season, when, on 28 August 2013, he appeared in the League Cup win over Stevenage, and his Premier League bow followed a month later as a late substitute in their 1-0 victory against Chelsea. That was one of 26 games he took part in during the 2013/14 season, and he made two more than that in 2014/15, scoring his first Premier League goal against Manchester United in April 2015 toward the end of a season in which he earned a nomination for Europe's "Golden Boy" award - a title that eventually went to his new teammate, Raheem Sterling. Stones enjoyed a solid first season with the Blues and started his second campaign in superb form before injury against Leicester disrupted his progress, and then again while on international duty for England. Stones returned and won a place in the England World Cup squad, memorably scoring twice during the 6-1 group stage win over Panama.