[REVISION HISTORY]

John Stones joins Inter, squad renewal underway

Updated 24 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-18 08:08 UTC → 2026-08-20 08:32 UTC · added ~~removed~~

John Stones joins Inter, ~~season schedule set~~ squad renewal underway

England defender John Stones completed a free transfer from Manchester City to Inter Milan on 31 July 2026, signing a two-year contract worth approximately €4 million per season. The 32-year-old chose Inter over interest from Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus, and Liverpool. He joins former teammate Manuel Akanji under head coach Cristian Chivu, who recently extended his contract to 2028. Stones departed City after ten seasons, tallying 295 appearances, 19 goals, and 20 major trophies. While his technical pedigree is high, questions remain regarding his physical conditioning following recent injury history. His back-surgery recovery was reported to be on track for the Community Shield on 16 August. Inter’s pre-season friendly in Hong Kong on 1 August 2026 ended 1-1 against Manchester City, with Divin Mubama scoring for the visitors and Benjamin Pavard equalising. Inter won the subsequent penalty shoot-out 4-2 (some reports list 3-1) to claim the Asahi Super Dry Trophy. Enzo Maresca, the newly appointed City manager, praised his side’s effort. The club is also negotiating a €40 million deal for Tottenham defender Cristian Romero. Inter’s 2026-27 Serie A campaign opens on 22 August at home against Monza. Summer departures include Yann Sommer, Francesco Acerbi, Matteo Darmian, and Denze Dumfries. As the club prepares for the Serie A season, it is undergoing a significant squad renewal focused on a generational shift, particularly in defense. Following Sommer's departure, the ~~transfer, Manuel Akanji stated that~~ team has signed veteran goalkeeper Ivan Provedel. The defensive line has been reinforced by the ~~arrival~~ arrivals of Stones and ~~the return of Benjamin Pavard have strengthened the defensive unit and increased competition. Akanji, who is helping Stones settle into~~ Djed Spence to join Akanji. Regarding the ~~club, noted~~ attack, management has indicated that ~~the team~~ captain Lautaro Martínez is ~~prepared~~ not for sale despite rumors linking him to ~~compete at a higher level in~~ FC Barcelona, as the ~~Champions League~~ club intends to build its strategy around Martínez and ~~expressed confidence that the squad can face any opponent without fear.~~ Marcus Thuram.

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.