Manchester City have been dealt a blow on the eve of the summer transfer window after it emerged that one of their stars is "very unhappy" at the Etihad.
Man City three games from double
Though it will not be the treble from last season, Manchester City are closing in on a Premier League and FA Cup double, though they could yet end up with nothing.
Trailing Arsenal by a single point heading into the final week of the season, Pep Guardiola's side play twice while the Gunners play just once, with City taking on Tottenham in north London before a home game against West Ham, while Arsenal play host to Everton on Sunday.
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A win in both games will be enough to crown City champions, while four points could also be enough should they win their game by three more goals than Arsenal win theirs by. They will then face Manchester United in the FA Cup final, which they will head into as overwhelming favourites against Erik ten Hag's side.
The permutations for the title
Manchester City (Vs Tottenham & West Ham)
Arsenal (vs Everton)
Title winner
Win, Win
Win
Manchester City
Win, Draw / Draw, Win
Win
Arsenal (as it stands on GD)
Win, Lose / Lose, Win
Win
Arsenal
Win, Lose/ Lose, Win or better
Draw
Manchester City
Beyond this season though, uncertainty lurks. Bernardo Silva has been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona for several seasons, and has a reported £50m release clause in his contract for such a deal to be set up this summer.
There are also questions over the future of Kevin de Bruyne, while the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Sergio Gomez could have played their last games for the club. Now, more uncertainty has arisen.
John Stones unhappy at Man City
That comes as centre-back John Stones is reportedly "very unhappy" with his situation at the club. The defender has started just one Premier League game since March, despite having shaken off the injuries that sidelined him for the first part of the campaign, with Ruben Dias or Manuel Akanji preferred in the heart of defence by Guardiola.
As a result, Football Insider claim that he is "very unhappy" and concerned for his England spot long term, a fact that has left his future at Manchester City "up in the air" as he heads into the final two years of his £250,000-a-week contract at the Etihad.
Though Guardiola, who has shared his love for the defender in the past, has made a habit of not standing in the way of players that want to leave, the 29-year-old might be hard to shift given his wages and likely transfer fee.
Stones came into his own last season, starring in a new role for the Cityzens and drawing widespread praise, including from ex-Bournemouth boss Scott Parker, who dubbed him a "freak".
“John Stones is a freak really, in the nicest possible way", he explained.
“He is world-class. Because a centre-half with his profile, with his stature, to play football like he does… in terms of a manager for Pep, he’s a dream.
“At centre-half, he’s arguably one of your best defenders, if not your best defender. You put him in midfield now, you want an overload, he finds a pass, he finds a spare man, he’s safe on the ball."
