Premier League champions Chelsea FC and Manchester City are set to lock horns to sign 20-year-old English centre-back John Stones from Everton FC this summer, as reported by Daily Mail. Stones has grabbed several eyeballs with an impressive performance in just his second season in top tier football for the Merseyside club.
Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho had hinted earlier that he is looking for a quality defender who can replace club captain and legend John Terry in future. The London side have been monitoring the performance of Stones since last season. They are likely to go all out for the defender.
Manchester City have also faced problems with their backline. Except for their captain Vincent Kompany, none of the other defenders have performed well. City had bought French defender Eliaquim Mangala last season for a hefty transfer fee, but Mangala has mostly stayed out of action this season due to successive injuries. Stones’ inclusion may prove to be a solution to City’s defensive woes and it will also fulfill their quota of signing young home grown players.
via futhead.com
via whoscored.com
Everton, although, have no intention of selling one of their top defenders, but their decision may change only if a huge sum of A?20million or excess is offered by the interested parties.
John Stones has already made four international appearances for the England national team and he is poised to become one of the best English defenders in the near future.