The Spaniard heaped praise on his young defender and insisted that a ‘big club’ like Everton would not be pressured into selling Stones regardless of the sizeable bids coming in for the centre-half
Chelsea FC manager Jos Mourinho revealed that he was looking to sign two defenders before the start of the new season ahead of his side’s Community Shield loss to Arsenal. But Everton manager Roberto Mart nez will be doing everything in his power to ensure that neither of them is 21-year-old centre-back John Stones.
In what has been one of the transfer sagas of the summer, the Blues’ public pursuit of the Englishman has already seen two bids being turned down by the Toffees, and although Mourinho is expected to return with a third, Mart nez is confident of keeping Stones at Goodison Park.
Teams putting bids in for Stones ‘doesn’t mean anything’
The Everton manager was in a bullish mood following his side’s 2-1 defeat to La Liga club Villarreal in Duncan Ferguson’s testimonial at Goodison Park on Sunday, insisting that the Toffees would not back down on their hard line stance.
Mart nez is quoted by English newspaper the Daily Mirror . as saying: “Youa re going to get clubs that are working with big budgets because they have been working in the Champions League. But we are a club with nine league titles and youa ve seen today we celebrated a special memory.
Roberto Martinez pledges to keep PAINT TROPHY from Chelsea’s clutches http://t.co/6Czf7fammN pic.twitter.com/tLJm3NInY8
a Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) August 2, 2015
a We are a big club. What we want is to build and what we want to do is concentrate on the future and we are not a selling club by any means. The situation with John is as you would expect.
“He is one of the most talented centre-backs in European football and we feel we have a special footballer with us. There is nothing to discuss and teams putting bids in for him doesna t mean anything.a
Keeping Stones a priority for Everton
Although Chelsea FC fans might not take kindly to Roberto Mart nez’s latest comments regarding Stones, the Toffees deserve a lot of credit for not caving in to two significantly large bids from Chelsea FC for a player who has only recently established himself at Goodison Park.
Stones’ potential is phenomenal, and Everton must prioritise retaining their new no.5 ahead of the start of the new campaign. The 21-year-old will be a certain starter alongside England international Phil Jagielka and will also be looking to impress England national team manager Roy Hodgson ahead of the 2016 UEFA European Championship next summer.
Chelsea FC will likely return with a tempting third bid before the close of the window, but given Stones is contracted until 2019, his market value will only rise as he gets more games under his belt and continues to improve.
Although it will not be an easy job – particularly considering Stones himself could well be flattered by the Londoners’ attention – Everton must resist any temptation to cash in on the young centre-half, who has the potential to be one of the best centre-backs in Europe.