Manchester City and England defender John Stones' days at the Etihad look numbered as he is yet to be offered a new contract by the club, with his current deal set to expire in two years.
A lack of form and injury problems have seen Stones left out of the City team more often than not this season and he has fallen behind midfielder Fernandinho in the pecking order of Pep Guardiola's preferred backline.
According to the Mirror, Stones was expected to enter fresh talks with City over a contract extension this season but has yet to start negotiations on a new deal with the Premier League champions.
The 25-year-old, signed from Everton for £48m over three and a half years ago, has failed to hit the heights expected of him and with two years left on his current contract, this could be the beginning of the end.
Following the departure of former skipper Vincent Kompany in the summer, many saw this as Stones' year to make his mark at the heart of City's defence, but he has only appeared nine times in the Premier League this campaign.
A muscle problem saw Stones miss eight games between September and November, leaving Guardiola short of options as the Catalan turned to Fernandinho to plug the gap.
It sums up his tumultuous season that Stones' highlight so far was being targeted on Twitter by Port Vale striker Tom Pope, who then went and scored against Stones when the sides met in the FA Cup.
A squabble with a League Two striker is hardly the way to justify his selection and his club form may also be harming his international appearances in a big way too.
With Euro 2020 round the corner, Stones hasn't staked a credible claim to England boss Gareth Southgate that he should be a starter for the tournament in the summer.
Source : 90min