Chelsea FC have seen their second bid for highly-rated young defender John Stones rejected by Everton, who insist that they have absolutely no intention of selling the 21-year-old to the Londoners this summer.
The Premier League champions have seen their second bid for the England international rebuffed by the Toffees, but will reportedly return with a third bid to try and lure Stones to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Chelsea FC could also face competition for his signature from title rivals Manchester United and Manchester City, with both clubs looking to get involved in the pursuit of the defender who is widely regarded as one of the brightest young English prospects in the game today.
Everton Reject Second Chelsea FC Bid for Stones
As was widely expected, the Blues returned with a second bid worth A?25 million for Everton centre-back John Stones, which was – again, not unexpectedly – promptly turned down by Everton. In what is now threatening to be a saga that could go down to the wire, Chelsea FC are expected to return with a third bid for the defender.
According to Sky Sports, the Toffees turned down the latest bid from the Blues and have insisted that he is strictly not for sale. The report suggests that Roberto Martinez’s side have communicated that twice to Chelsea FC, making a potential deal for the Englishman extremely difficult.
Meanwhile, London’s Evening Standard have reported that Jos Mourinho will return with a third bid for Stones but is unlikely to go higher than the A?30 million mark. Everton , however, are believed to be holding out for a mammoth A?34 million, which would be the record transfer fee for an English defender.
BREAKING: Sky Sources: Everton reject A?25m bid for John Stones from Chelsea #SSNHQ
a Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) July 29, 2015
BREAKING: Sky Sources: Everton have no intention of selling John Stones & have told Chelsea twice he is not for sale #SSNHQ
a Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) July 29, 2015
Chelsea will return to Everton with third offer for Stones, but won’t go above A?30m…they also have plan b in place http://t.co/K7aA1fUxWM
a Simon Johnson (@sjstandardsport) July 29, 2015
The . Daily Mirror confirm that the Blues will return with a bid, but claim that Manchester City will throw their hats in the ring should they feel that there is a deal to be made. This follows earlier reports in the English press suggesting Manchester United too could be considering a move for the highly coveted youngster.
Chelsea FC Playing A Game That Might Not End Well
Irrespective of the Stones interest, it is abundantly clear that Chelsea FC need to sign at least two defenders before the transfer window closes on the 1st of September. One of them has to be a centre-back, given that the Blues only have three in their first-team squad currently – including the 34-year-old John Terry, who might not have the injury-free season he enjoyed in 2014-2015 campaign.
Although new vice-captain Branislav Ivanovi can fill in when required, it would require C sar Azpilicueta to move to the right-back position, likely leaving Mourinho with a young, relatively inexperienced left-back in either Abdul Baba Rahman or Alex Telles – both of who have been linked to Chelsea FC recently.
It would be fair to say that the Blues’ pursuit of Stones has been anything but private, with leaks to the British media apparent from the near-identical reports in the major newspapers over the course of the past fortnight.
That, however, might backfire on Chelsea FC if a deal cannot eventually be struck. The situation is reminiscent in some ways of the Blues’ pursuit of Wayne Rooney in the summer of 2013, where Mourinho was led to believe there was a deal to be struck, causing him to leave the signing of a striker to the eleventh hour.
Chelsea FC would be wise to decide upon a ‘ceiling price’, beyond which they should cease the pursuit of the Everton centre-half and look for alternatives elsewhere.
