The 21-year-old has been the subject of very public interest from Jos Mourinho and his Chelsea FC side this summer, but former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes Stones should opt for his old club over the Londoners.
John Stones is unquestionably one of the brightest young English prospects in the game today, and as such, has been attracting a lot of attention from some of the country’s biggest clubs – particularly Premier League champions Chelsea FC. The Blues have had two bids rejected for the 21-year-old as Everton hold out for their A?30 million valuation of the defender.
However, Rio Ferdinand – whose transfer fee from Leeds United to Manchester United remains the largest ever amount paid for an English defender – has urged the former Barnsley defender to ignore the attention from the Blues and sign for the Red Devils instead.
Ferdinand has concerns over playing time Stones would get at Chelsea FC
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The former England international has expressed his concern regarding the playing time the young Everton centre-half would get should he choose to move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Ferdinand, who was speaking at a BT Sport media event, was quoted by the Mail Online as saying: “Will Stones play every week? It depends where he goes. If he goes to Manchester United, he plays every week so thata s the right club for him I think.
“If he goes to Chelsea, hea s not playing every week. Hea s at that stage of his development where he wants to play every week.”
The former United centre-half – whom Stones has often been compare to – also heaped praise on the 21-year-old and said buying him would be a ‘no-brainer’.
Rio Ferdinand: Stones would be a ‘lunatic’ to join Chelsea… he should go to Manchester United http://t.co/BTMSrVIgEc
a MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) August 4, 2015
“I think he is the real deal,” Ferdinand said. “Hea s very good on the ball. I took a real interest in him and watched him at Loftus Road against Bobby Zamora, who gave most centre-halves problems last season physically, and he handled Bobby well.
“That was one of the areas that I hadna t really seen him under pressure with and he looked up for that battle. With all the other stuff hea s got, hea s got a real good chance.Ia d buy John Stones if Ia m Man Utd.
“Youa re buying someone whoa s going to give you 10 years service. Hea s a great prospect, the best young centre-half in the country at the moment. Ita s a no-brainer for me.”
Chelsea FC would provide a better learning environment for Stones
Although Ferdinand is correct in saying that the youngster is more likely to be first-choice at Manchester United than at Chelsea, Stones would arguably be in a better learning environment at Stamford Bridge.
With two senior English defenders in the first-team squad to learn from – including one of the greatest English defenders to have played the sport in John Terry – Stones could accelerate his growth in somewhat similar fashion to French youngster Kurt Zouma last season.
Quite simply, the Red Devils do not have anywhere near the same kind of experience or quality in their defence. That is, of course, why he would be more likely to feature on a weekly basis for them.
Chelsea FC remain in the driving seat for his signature, and with less than a week to go to the start of the season, it remains to be seen whether the Blues return with a third bid for the Everton defender as they seek to secure a long-term replacement for captain John Terry.