After having its initial £20M offer for Everton defender John Stones rejected, reigning league champions Chelsea have reportedly decided to up their offer for the England international to £26M.
The 21-year-old is widely viewed as the replacement for long-serving captain John Terry, both for Chelsea and for England. Chelsea fans are already salivating about the prospects of a long-term centre back partnership with Kurt Zouma, who has impressed in his limited appearances for the club.
Those are lofty expectations for a lad who is so young, so just who is this gentleman, and why are Chelsea (along with perhaps Manchester United and Manchester City) so interested in him?
With a name that seems like he should be on Game of Thrones, Stones made his professional debut for Barnsley in the Championship back in March 2012 and moved to Everton in January 2013. Stones has been a consistent contributor for the Toffees over the last two seasons, even as he struggled with an ankle injury last season that kept him off the pitch for several months.
Despite the injury, Stones was a finalist for the Golden Boy award, which is given by sports journalists to the most impressive player in Europe under 21 years of age (Raheem Sterling was the winner). Stones has also made four appearances for the England national team after a few appearances for the youth squads, including at this summer’s U21 European Championship. He is expected to become a major contributor for the senior squad in next year’s European Championship.
Given the bright future that Stones appears to have, Everton are understandably desperately trying to hang on to him but, as the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase used to say, “everybody’s got a price."
Is this all just posturing to get a higher fee out of Chelsea, who certainly is not lacking resources, or is Everton truly that dedicated to keeping Stones? As Liverpool recently found out with Raheem Sterling, in most cases it ultimately comes down to what the player wants. Have the sweet nothings that Jose Mourinho has been whispering in Stones’s ear from afar about joining Chelsea and competing at the highest level been enough to turn the youngster’s head south towards London?
If Stones is truly dedicated to making the move, then there probably will not be anything that Everton can do to keep him.
But beware young John, John Terry and Gary Cahill are not going anywhere just yet, so time with the starting 11 could be limited this season (just ask Zouma). But this is likely Terry’s last season with the club, so a starting position will be opening up soon. He will just have to be patient.
Until then, Martinez will have to recruit Stones to stay and not to make the move to Chelsea. And if he tells them that he wants to move because it is the best thing for his career, there is only one thing they can say in reply:
“You know nothing John Stones.”
Follow Mike Smith on Twitter @thefootiegent
