Arsenal and Chelsea in battle with two Italian giants in race to sign John Stones

Inter Milan and Juventus are both in talks with John Stones’ camp over signing the free agent, talkSPORT understands.

The England international is currently without a club having left Manchester City following the expiry of his contract in June.

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In demand

Arsenal and Chelsea have been linked with Stones, with both clubs considering a move for him.

Liverpool have also been urged to make an approach for the 32-year-old, but his Premier League suitors could now have a battle on their hands.

Serie A giants Juventus and Inter Milan have now joined the race for his signature, with negotiations set to take place this week.

Stones is understood to be open to a move to Italy, with the centre-back not short of options ahead of the new season.

Should he decide his future lies on the continent, the Englishman will then face a choice between being part of Juventus’ revival, or joining Inter as they look to build on their recent glory.

Inter clinched the Serie A title for the second time in three years last term, once again qualifying for the Champions League.

They have been looking to strengthen their back line, having already held talks with with Tottenham captain Cristian Romero.

Meanwhile, Juventus endured a disappointing 2025/26 campaign, finishing sixth in the table and missing out on Champions League qualification.

And both Italian sides may have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Stones, with Chelsea closing in on the signing of Maxence Lacroix.

But they may face stiffer competition from Arsenal, who could need a new centre-back to fill in for William Saliba, who looks set for a lengthy absence after suffering a back injury while on World Cup duty with France.

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Recent revival

Stones has a decision to make over his future in the coming weeks, having put himself in the shop window at the World Cup.

He made five appearances for England on their run to the semi-finals, as the Three Lions ultimately went on to finish third.

The defender left Man City in June, following ten years with the club having signed from Everton in 2016.

During that time, he won 19 trophies including six Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

However, he played a bit-part role in his final season at the Etihad Stadium, featuring just nine times in the Premier League.

Only five of these were starts, as the Citizens finished second to Arsenal in the title race.

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Stones’ league outings contributed to a total of 18 appearances across all competitions, with injuries reducing his involvement.

As well as Arsenal and Chelsea being among his Premier League suitors, Liverpool have been backed to make a play for the experienced defender.

Reds fan and Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony made this claim recently on talkSPORT, insisting Stones would be the perfect partner to Virgil van Dijk.

MacAnthony said: “I’d love Liverpool to sign him.

“We have two centre-backs, young ones, paid a lot of money for one (Jeremy Jacquet) and a lot of money for the other one (Giovanni Leoni), who did his ACL last year.

“We obviously we have (Virgil) Van Dijk and obviously then Joe Gomez has got injury-proneness to his resume. I would love Stones with Van Dijk, just to bed in those two younger players who were coming back from injury.”