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West Ham have reportedly entered the race to sign Manchester City defender John Stones and they appear to be frontrunners for him.

According to the Sun, the Hammers have leapfrogged London rivals Arsenal in the pursuit of the 26-year-old, as they need to sell first before buying anyone.

It is understood that he “looks certain” to leave the Etihad Stadium in this summer transfer window, with Man City seeing a bid for Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake accepted.

The report explains that the England international could be available for just £20million and that has seen West Ham enter the race for the Man City centre-back.

West Ham manager David Moyes previously signed Stones back in 2013 when he was at charge at Everton and has also spoken very highly about him in recent years.

“We saw someone who was naturally comfortable on the ball. What he needed to develop was his defending. He got that at Everton. Since then he’s gone on to show he’s a top quality defender. He could play for any team,” Moyes said about Stones in December 2017.

TBR’s View – Stones would be a great £20m signing

After avoiding relegation in the final weeks of the Premier League season, West Ham need to kick on now and make sure they are not once again flirting with the bottom end of the table.

Angelo Ogbonna is the standout alongside some decent centre-back options at West Ham, but it would be wrong to turn their noses up at high-profile defender Stones.

Stones has made just 24 appearances so far this campaign for Man City, with their season ongoing still due to the Champions League competition in August.

The 39-time capped England international has been guilty of the odd individual mistake and hasn’t quite been able to cement a regular spot in Pep Guardiola’s XI.

But he’s a ball-playing centre-back that has shown he can be formidable at the top level when on top of his game and he’s won two Premier League titles in his career, as well as being a mainstay in Gareth Southgate’s England group.

There is definitely room for him to improve still aged 26 and for £20million it looks a no-brainer for West Ham to try get over the line.