Stones arrived at City just six months after Pep Guardiola’s appointment back in 2016 but the 26-year-old has badly struggled to live up to his £47.5million price tag and dropped down the pecking order at the Etihad. The out-of-favour defender made just 12 starts across City’s Premier League campaign, with Guardiola preferring to field Eric Garcia and Fernandinho at centre-back, and there’s increasing speculation he could be set for the exit door over the coming weeks. It has been reported of a deal between City and Bournemouth for Nathan Ake have cast further doubt over Stones’ future and West Ham have been keeping close tabs on the situation.
Parlour believes Stones would be an ‘absolutely brilliant deal’ for the Hammers but has encouraged Arsenal to compete with their London rivals for the England international. ‘That would be a great deal for West Ham if they can get him for £20m, especially when you look at Ake who is going to City for £40m,’
‘Arsenal are desperate for a centre-half… why don’t you take your chance and try and go in and bid for Stones? He’s had a bad time in recent years and he hasn’t really gone to where they thought he might go to. Parlour has urged the Gunners to take a punt on the City defender ‘But you don’t become a bad defender overnight, he just needs that bit of coaching.
‘And that’s where it could be key with Arsenal because obviously Arteta has worked with him over the last few years at Man City. ‘But if West Ham could get him for that price it would be a great deal, an absolutely brilliant deal.’
