John Stones has reached a verbal agreement with Inter over a two-year contract, but the move is still not done. He is available on a free transfer after his Manchester City contract ran down on June 30, and the final decision now sits with Stones himself. Fabrizio Romano said: "Understand Inter are set to discuss a two year deal with John Stones as a free agent, talks ongoing."
Inter's move for Stones
The first detail worth separating from the noise is the state of the deal. Football Italia reported the verbal agreement, while Romano's update said talks were ongoing and the decision was still up to the England defender. Stones is 32, and his representatives are set to finalise terms with Inter.
That is as far as this can be pushed right now. The free transfer part is clear, the interest is real, and the agreement has moved beyond loose speculation, but the transfer has not crossed the line into a completed signing.
Premier League interest still in the picture
Romano also said Juventus had approached Stones' camp over the weekend and that the defender has proposals in the Premier League. In a separate update, he named Chelsea and Arsenal among the clubs that had made approaches too. That keeps the race open, even if Inter appear to have moved first and fastest.
Inter's position helps explain why they are pushing. They finished first in Serie A in 2025, so this is not a club scraping around for a stopgap. Stones has also shown he is still operating at a high level, making 5 World Cup appearances and posting a 6.63 rating at the tournament.
The football case for Inter is obvious enough, but the wider market is still alive. Stones has options, and until he settles on one of them, the verbal agreement is only the start of the story.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
