Reports: Chelsea FC Keen On John Stones
Jul 31, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Everton defender John Stones (26) passes the ball back against Juventus forward Carlos Alberto Teves (10) at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Express and others have reported Chelsea are interested in signing Everton’s John Stones, alongside London rivals Spurs and Arsenal.
The 20 year old defender had a breakout year for Everton last season, and impressed England manager Roy Hodgson enough that he brought the player to Brazil as a standby player, although he never played in the World Cup. Stones is likened to Chelsea and England legend John Terry for being a tough defender brought through English youth systems, and would count as a Home Grown player for Premier League squads.
Despite the potential shown by the young defender and the always pleasing thought of antagonizing Spurs and Arsenal by signing players from under their noses, I hope Chelsea decide to pass on John Stones. We are currently chock full of young defensive talent and most of them are on loan at Vitesse.
The combination of a young breakout season at a middle table club and being English means the player will be more expensive than his actual value to the team would justify. To me, Stones is not a clear step above Kenneth Omeru, Tomas Kalas or Kurt Zouma, which puts him well outside the chance of making a first team debut at Stamford Bridge even at the tender age of 20.
It’d be best to save the money Chelsea would invest in Stones and place it in a war chest for other needs that the club currently have or may encounter in the future, or just save them for Mr. Abramovich to splash on another new fancy striker, should the mood strike him (no pun intended.)
UTC!
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