John Stones hopes to emulate Man Utd defenders rather than Chelsea flop in Serie A | OneFootball

If John Stones is as successful at Inter as one of the full-backs in this XI of England players in Serie A this century, he’ll do very well indeed.

Stones is set to join Inter on a two-year deal after leaving Manchester City at the end of his contract.

He follows a procession of England players who have moved to Italy, some more fruitfully than others.

Here is our XI of English players – only one doesn’t have a senior cap – who’ve played in Serie A since 2000…

GK: Joe Hart

When the England goalkeeper was ruthlessly cast aside by Pep Guardiola – something the manager later came to regret – Hart needed an escape. He chose Torino because he “didn’t have many options”.

Away from the English spotlight, Hart performed creditably in Serie A and Torino would love to have kept him. “Hart wants to stay but we are all aware, both him and the club, we can’t buy him,” said Sinisa Mihajlovic, aware of the unbridgeable gap between the fee City wanted and what Torino could afford.

Instead, Hart went to West Ham. It did not go well.

RB: Ashley Young

The ex-England wideman joined Inter from Manchester United initially for the second half of the 2019/20 season but Antonio Conte saw enough to extend his stay for the whole of the following campign.

In 2020/21, Young became only the second Englishman to win the Serie A title, following Gerry Hitchens – also with Inter – in 1963.

CB: Fikayo Tomori

Having waited almost six decades for an Englishman to claim a Serie A winner’s medal, Tomori made it two in two years when AC Milan took Inter’s crown in 2021/22.

That was the end of the ex-Chelsea defender’s first full season in Italy after initially arriving on loan in January 2021. He was also named in the Serie A team of the season.

Tomori has just finished his fifth full season with Milan – but that might be his lot. The 28-year-old does not look to feature in Ruben Amorim’s plans, especially after the arrival of Mario Gila.

CB: Chris Smalling

Smalling was towards the bottom of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s six centre-backs when Roma came calling. After one season on loan in the Italian capital, fans thought they’d signed one of the best in Europe.

United drove a hard bargain but Roma finally agreed to sign Smalling permanently with a minute to spare on deadline day in 2020.

He stayed for five seasons in total, the highlight being the 2022 Europa Conference League final in which Smalling was man of the match in Roma’s 1-0 win over Feyenoord to become the inaugural winners of the competition.

LB: Ashley Cole

The fact that Cole’s time in Rome is best remembered for a team photo that he’s lurking on the edge of says it all…

The ex-England left-back joined Roma in 2014 upon leaving Chelsea after eight seasons at Stamford Bridge, but he managed only 16 appearances before player and club agreed to rip up their contract three-quarters of the way through.

CM: Ruben Loftus-Cheek

AC Milan has been a home to Loftus-Cheek as much as any of his other clubs, including Chelsea, who never quite seemed sure on their academy graduate.

In exactly 100 appearances, Loftus-Cheek has played on every rung of Milan’s midfield ladder from defensive screener to second striker.

It seems, though, that the 30-year-old is now surplus to requirements. But while Tomori is being linked with clubs in England, Loftus-Cheek still fancies his chances of winning over Amorim.

CM: David Beckham

A year and a half after Beckham left Europe for MLS, in January 2009, he was back closer to home with Milan in a move that suited all parties. Galaxy saved a few dollars on wages; Beckham could prove his England credentials; and Adriano Galliani had another superstar to shift some shirts.

Beckham, though, could hardly swan into a Milan dressing room, featuring Maldini, Nesta, Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf and Kaka, and not pull his weight.

His first loan spell was extended to take him to the end of the season, rather than return to LA in March, and so impressed were Milan, they brought him back in a similar arrangement a year later – only for Beckham to tear his Achilles and miss the World Cup he looked set to feature in under Fabio Capello.

CM: Dele

Como was supposed to be Dele’s fresh start after almost two years on the sidelines. The ex-England star signed an 18-month deal with the Serie A newcomers in January 2025. But that contract was ripped up after only half a season.

Dele managed only one appearance under Cesc Fabregas: coming off the bench in the 81st minute against AC Milan at the San Siro. He was sent off in stoppage time.

FWD: Tammy Abraham

Romelu Lukaku’s big money arrival from Inter Milan pushed Abraham further down the Chelsea pecking order, but Jose Mourinho convinced Roma to buy the young striker for £34.5million.

In his first season, Abraham made the fee look a bargain. With 17 goals, he surpassed Hitchens’ record that had stood for 60 years for the most goals scored by an English player in a single Serie A season.

That was as good as it got for Abraham. He scored just half the amount in his second season and his third campaign was wrecked by injuries. A change of scene in the same league didn’t help much – he scored only three on loan at AC Milan before coming back to the Premier League with Villa via Besiktas.

FWD: Jay Bothroyd

Perugia was the second of Bothroyd’s 12 clubs in his career, his stint in Italy coming seven years before the striker earned his first and only England cap under Capello.

Eleven goals in a Coventry side that finished 20th in the Championship earned Bothroyd his opportunity in Serie A, which saw him play alongside Colonel Gaddafi’s son. For one game at least, presumably after which they realised the offspring of the Libyan dictator was actually rubbish at football. But not many stuck their hands up to tell him.

Bothroyd fared better but not by much. Italian defences were too tight for a youngster slung out of Arsenal for throwing his shorts at Don Howe when hooked in a youth game. Four Serie A goals earned the striker a loan move to Blackburn and Bothroyd never returned to Umbria.

FWD: Keinan Davis

Scoring 10 Serie A goals for Udinese last season had former England Under-20 striker Davis in the running the Golden Boot before he went the last eight games without a goal.

But it was enough to catch the eyes of AC Milan and Roma, who both continue to be linked with the 28-year-old, despite his recent contract extension.