John Stones is set to face his former club once again when Everton travel to play against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
Stones was linked with a sensational return to the Toffees in the last transfer window; however, he almost never originally signed for Everton over a decade ago, with two former staff members not convinced about his ability.
Stones left Everton in 2016, after spending three years at the club.
The Toffees signed him for a fee reported to be worth £3 million, and they would receive over 16 times that after he was sold to Manchester City for a package of £50 million.
Since joining the Sky Blues, John Stones has won everything there is to be won in England, but his path would have been so different if it weren’t for one moment on deadline day in 2013.
David Moyes’s phone call stopped Everton missing out on John Stones
Former Everton scout Tony Henry had watched John Stones playing for Barnsley in 2013, and he was convinced he was a top-quality player.
Henry wanted Everton to land the defender and insisted David Moyes go and have a look at him.
In an interview with the Athletic back in 2023, Henry stated, “I said to David (Moyes) to send someone else to watch him for another opinion.
“Alan Stubbs and Andy Holden (former Everton coaches) went, and the feedback was, ‘He’s good, but we don’t need a right-back; we’ve got Seamus (Coleman).’”
Everton continued with their business in January 2013, and Stones was not on their radar, with the club believing their transfers on deadline day were finished.
However, Henry continued to insist that Everton sign the player; he told the Athletic, “It got to deadline day (January 2013), and David felt we were basically done for the day, but I kept saying, ‘You just have to look at this kid. Just please have a look. See if we’ve got it in the budget.’”
The scout convinced Moyes to hold a roundtable about signing Stones, but there was no full agreement between everyone.
At that point, Wigan’s manager Roberto Martinez had moved ahead for a potential deal for the player, and Stones was set for a medical at the Latics.
Henry decided to have one more go at convincing Moyes to do the deal, and in the end it worked out.
He said, “So I told David and said, ‘If you don’t want to do it, fine. We call it a day, but I’m telling you now, we’ve missed out. We’ve missed out big time.’ And he said, ‘Right, I’ll phone Bill (Kenwright). Bill said yes, the agent turned around and came here for a medical instead, and the rest is history.”
Moyes would only manage the player for a few months, with the Scotsman taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United the following season.
Additionally, in the end, Roberto Martinez would manage the player he was hoping to sign just a few months earlier, as he was appointed Everton manager.
If it were not for Henry and Moyes making that phone call, Stones may never have played for the Toffees; however, he would have still had a top career.
John Stones would still have made his way to the top
John Stones’ quality would have meant he found his way to the peak of football anyway.
While his route would have been different, his trophy cabinet would still be filled, and he would have been an England international in the end.
His calmness and effective ball-playing qualities, which attracted interest from Manchester City, were always evident.
Pep Guardiola may have improved Stones, but he was always a talented player before Man City and even before Everton.
He was destined to reach the top.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
