Hugo Viana might need to buck his Man City trend on major contract call

One Manchester City veteran is out of contract next summer but he is making a strong case to stay at the Etihad.

The unmistakable focus at Manchester City this year has been on the future. After the dramatic collapse last autumn, it has been about renewal.

Transfer business in January and the summer centred mostly on youth, with 10 of City's 11 permanent signings under the age of 26 and third-choice goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli the only one to buck the trend.

The same has been true of contract renewals. Since the summer director of football Hugo Viana has handed new deals to Rico Lewis, Nico O’Reilly and Savinho, all 21 or younger. There is a clear desire to build a new team for a new era under Pep Guardiola.

That is also evidenced in the departures. Kevin De Bruyne was told he wasn’t getting a new contract and then Ederson, Kyle Walker and Ilkay Gundogan were sold in the summer. Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish left on loan but aren’t expected to return.

It is very much out with the old and in with the new. Bernardo Silva is club captain this season, but he has already dropped sizeable hints that he will leave when his contract expires next summer.

That takes one issue off the table for Viana, but he might have to buck the trend when it comes to 31-year-old John Stones. The England international is also out of contract at the end of the season, but given his current form, an extension should really be a formality.

Guardiola dodged questions about that recently, insisting it’s an issue for Viana, but he was delighted with Stones’ latest eye-catching display against Villarreal.

He was back in the familiar hybrid role in Spain, a central defender on paper but often a central midfielder on the pitch. It was a position he perfected during the treble season, when he was outstanding.

“Really good. Top,” Guardiola said of his performance on Tuesday. “He can play his position, is so smart and helps us. Really good and really pleased for the game from John. [The year we won the treble] he made an exceptional season and was an important player there.”

The concern around Stones and offering him a new deal into his 30s is his injury record. He had four different setbacks last year and has missed more than 50 games over the last two years.

So far this season, those issues seem a thing of the past. He played all but 10 minutes of England’s October internationals and had praise from Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel ringing in his ears.

Stones offers versatility for City. He can play right-back as well as centre-back, but he is also the only member of the squad who can play the hybrid role, moving from the back line into midfield and dictating play in that classy way we have come to expect after 283 City appearances.

There should be many more to come on the evidence of the first couple of months of this season. Viana might rightly have been focusing on youth in his first months on the job, but there is one veteran who is certainly worth a new contract.

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