England v Argentina: Semi Final - FIFA World Cup 2026
England v Argentina: Semi Final - FIFA World Cup 2026
Juventus are wading into the free agent waters once again for very obvious reasons. But this latest one is not all that convincing in terms of how affordable it may be.
According to reports over the last 24 hours, Juventus are one of a handful of clubs who are talking with free-agent center back John Stones over a potential move on a “free” this summer. Stones, who was part of the England squad that finished third at the World Cup, left Manchester City after a decade at the club following the completion of the 2025-26 season. Stones is “open to Italy as his next destination,” according to Fabrizio Romano on Monday.
The catch? Premier League champions Arsenal as well as Chelsea are also reportedly in the mix. Same goes for Serie A winners Inter Milan because, as we know, Beppe Marotta loves himself a free-agent signing.
The other catch? It’s hard to know what kind of salary the 32-year-old Stones might demand seeing as he was on a massive £13 million gross salary at City this past season.
So, this is another name to add to the list of current free agents who have been linked to Juventus. Is that list now considered a lengthy one? Maybe not! But it’s one that certainly has more than a couple of names on it by now.
What Stones could offer on the field is hard to say at this point.
Yes, he would bring title-winning pedigree that pretty much nobody currently on the Juventus roster actually has — and that would be a boon to this current group of players. Stones was a fixture in the starting lineup at Manchester City as they were winning the Premier League and the Champions League and pretty much every other trophy possible in England. But the last couple of seasons as he has officially entered his 30s have seen physical issues become all the more common. Stones made just 13 starts and played just over 1,100 minutes in all competitions in each of the last two seasons.
Unless Stones is coming to Italy to be a backup option — which is incredibly hard to believe — that is not necessarily the kind of player that this Juventus, one that has plenty of depth issues to begin with, actually needs.
But, as Romano and Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio have both reported, Juventus are in contact with Stones’ agent and have requested information on the player. What this turns into remains to be seen — especially with two very deep-pocketed Premier League clubs circling around.