Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that the club have submitted a bid for Everton defender John Stones.
The 21-year-old is widely considered to be the best young center-back in England currently and a lot of clubs have been monitoring his progress at Goodison Park. The youngster signed for Everton in 2013 after coming up through the ranks at Barnsley.
Stones made 28 appearances for Everton last season and he even broke into the England national team in May last year. Roberto Martinez is keen to retain Stones, who will be a permanent fixture in the starting line-up next season, especially with Sylvain Distin and Antolin Alcaraz being released by the Merseyside club this summer. Chelsea however are interested in signing Stones and have already submitted their bid for the defender, which was eventually turned down by Everton.
Mourinho confirms Chelsea have submitted a bid for Stones
Sky Sports reported that Chelseaa s initial bid of A?20 million was rejected by Everton, but the reigning Premier League champions are expected to return with an improved offer. Jose Mourinho has now confirmed their move for Stones, although he refrained from commenting any further on this topic.
a We made a bid, the bid is there and Everton have the power to accept it or refuse it.
“This is between John Stones and Everton and I dona t speak about him because he is an Everton player.
a If we made a bid it is because we like the player, we dona t make bids for players we dona t like, but we respect Everton and respect every club that has a player and it is up to them – everything is in their hands.a a The Chelsea manager told Sky Sports News HQ.
. Earmarked to replaced John Terry
Chelseaa s second bid is expected to break the record for the most expensive English defender, which was earlier held by Rio Ferdinand. The London club have earmarked Stones as the long-term replacement for Captain John Terry, who is approaching the fag end of his career at the age of 34.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mourinho explained that the plan to eventually replace Terry is already in place, and although it seems improbable at the moment, every player is replaceable.
a We have three [central defenders] plus Ivanovic, so that is four. We have two who are more than 30 years old. We would like to have two less than 25 years old, which would give us the next 10 years. But as you can imagine ita s no something urgent, it is not something we are desperate for it.
a I think 10 years ago or five years ago every Chelsea supporters would say: a I cana t see Chelsea win a title without Frank Lampard.a And Chelsea won the title without one of the three best players of the last 10 years and we did it. No one is irreplaceable. Difficult to replace, yes. To replace one by one is very difficult, very difficult. To replace by good time, a good structure, a good dynamic, good options, ita s possible.
a One day when he stops, and I dona t think it will be next season, we have created already a situation for John to be replaced. I always think in this direction, I always did imagine now for the first time in my career my perspective is to stay in the club for more time than before.a a Mourinho told the Guardian.
Choice between regular first team football and trophies
John Stones has a bright future ahead of him, but whether he will have that at Everton or at Chelsea, remains to be seen. Despite his talent, he still has a lot of learn and he wona t find anyone better than John Terry to guide him. But if Stones wants regular first team football, staying at Everton seems to be his best bet at this point. At Chelsea he will get higher wage and more likely to win trophies, but he is unlikely to be a first team regular immediately.