Chelsea FC Transfer News: John Stones Not For Sale
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Everton boss Roberto Martinez has stood firm in his stance that Chelsea FC target John Stones is not for sale. The England defender has been identified by Jose Mourinho as a target for the club and as a potential long-term successor for captain John Terry at the club.
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Chelsea have been public about their pursuit of the defender and have reportedly made two bids for Stones already. The second of the bids is believed to be £40m which should have been enough to test Everton’s resolve but they have not been moved.
Martinez, as quoted by Sky Sports, said “I have said before the player is not for sale and that is the end of it. Our situation has been very clear from the beginning. We are not a selling club who will lose our best performers”.
He continued and said, “His performance at the weekend was very strong and for a young man to come up with that leadership is a real sign of what he is as a footballer. He is very important player for us and we are looking forward to seeing the best of John over the next few seasons, not just the next few weeks.”
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Everton are one of those clubs that exist just outside the top four but rarely have any issues with relegation dangers. They struggled last season under Martinez but relegation was never really a concern for the Toffees.
Selling players is not something they do often and they have been known to splash the cash from time to time on players. They did so just last summer for Romelu Lukaku to the tune of £32m so a large fee for Stones may not cause as much consternation as it would at a smaller club.
Still, if a player has made his mind up that he will leave a club then there is little that will stop him. Stones has not given any indication that he wants a move to Chelsea FC so if he has done so it was behind closed doors. Everton have also brought in a young player in Mason Holgate from Barnsley who is a possible replacement for Stones.
Holgate is just 18 years old but Everton is the sort of club that can take a risk on a young player because their ambitions are usually to at least finish in the top 10 and make a run for one of the domestic cup trophies.
There has been much talk about whether Stones should move to Chelsea or any big club at this point in his career because it may stunt his growth. At Everton he gets to play nearly every match while he would not be afforded that luxury at Chelsea. The growth he would get at Chelsea would come more in the form of learning to play at one of the biggest clubs in world football and get the chance to play in the Champions League.
Every pundit has weighed in and few are in support of the youngster making the move but few players would pass on the opportunity to join Chelsea and potentially become a club fixture for the next decade or so. Perhaps if Stones was at Everton since he was a youth player then it would be understandable for him to want to stay. But if he has true ambitions to reach the pinnacle of football and play for a club with global appeal, then he will make this move to Chelsea FC happen one way or another.
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