A Man City player is playing for a contract this season - and he is going the right way about it

John Stones has forced his way back into the Manchester City team but he is out of contract next summer and his future is still unclear.

John Stones has started both of City's Premier League games this season

There aren't many players in this Manchester City squad who haven't been linked with a transfer this summer, but the window opened with John Stones' future in the spotlight after an injury-plagued couple of seasons.

A series of injury setbacks have derailed Stones since he emerged as one of the heroes of City's treble-winning season. He produced several outstanding performances as a hybrid defender/midfielder, most notably in the Champions League final in Istanbul, as the Blues swept all before them.

Stones looked untouchable then, but fast-forward a couple of years, and he is the wrong side of 30 and beginning to look injury-prone. He wasn't seen again last season after limping out of City's defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in February after just eight minutes and spent the entirety of the Club World Cup on the bench.

That came as he was trying to ease his way back to fitness and avoid any of the setbacks that hampered Stones and many of his defensive partners at City last season. He was also linked with a move away, with Everton mentioned as an early suitor. The January additions of Vitor Reis and Abduokodir Khusanov always made a defensive sale likely this summer.

With less than a week of the window to go, that still hasn't happened, but Manuel Akanji or Nathan Ake look set for the exit door rather than Stones, who has taken advantage of Josko Gvardiol's injury to find a timely return to form.

The 31-year-old has started both Premier League games so far this season, lasting 82 minutes in the win against Wolves and then playing the full game against Tottenham. That didn't end well for City, but on a day when several players produced below-par performances, Stones was far from the worst offender.

He is likely to remain in the team this weekend, with Gvardiol still on his way back to fitness, and his form will almost certainly result in a place in the England squad as well.

Stones needs to continue to show he is over his fitness issues this season, but on the pitch, he is showing the quality that made him a hugely popular figure a couple of years ago. Even if Gvardiol returns to partner Ruben Dias, Stones is an outstanding third-choice centre-back.

However, he will turn 32 at the end of next season, and his contract currently runs until next summer. Although this window has focused on transfers, director of football Hugo Viana will soon have a decision to make on Stones' contract.

There is no desperate rush to conclude those talks. Stones has more to prove yet, but if he continues to hit these standards in terms of performances and availability, then surely he is worth keeping around for another couple of years.

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