Chelsea FC Must Move On From John Stones
According to Sky Sports, Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has rejected another bid from Chelsea FC for 21-year old defender John Stones. This comes just a day after the youngster submitted a transfer request to try and push for a move to Stamford Bridge.
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Everton did not respond to the transfer request straight away but did so in their own way by putting John Stones in the lineup for their League Cup match against Barnsley. The League One side took the Toffees to extra time and Stones was accused by many on social media of jumping out of the way of a shot to allow them to score.
Many took it as a sign of him showing the Everton brass what would happen if they did not honor his transfer request. It is hard to judge intent but it did certainly appear that he got out of the way of the shot but that would show a lack of character that Chelsea FC fans should not want on their club.
After the match, Everton manager Roberto Martinez insisted that Stones was not for sale and that “money can’t buy everything in football”. The irony of course being that he wants loyalty from his players and does not want them moving to a bigger club because of the money but given the chance to move to Chelsea he would do so in a heartbeat. It is the same story we see over and over again where managers and coaches preach loyalty to their players but will move on to bigger and better jobs at a moment’s notice.
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Despite the shaky moral high ground that Everton and Martinez are on, they do have a point. Stones is their player and they are not obligated to sell him just because Chelsea lodged a big money bid. The latest bid is believed to be between £37-40m and is another reason why the Blues should move on to other targets. £37m is a lot of money to spend on a player that is still establishing himself but it could be well worth it in the long run because of his possible longevity with the club.
However if Everton is not willing to sell then that money could be put to good use in buying another talented young defender who a club is willing to part ways with more easily. He may not be English and he may not have two years of experience in the Premier League but he could still help the club shore up its backline.
Names like Ezequiel Garay and Zhang Linpeng of Guangzhou Evergrande of the Chinese Super League have been floated around but both are considerably older than Stones and would be stop gap solutions to the club’s problems. Perhaps the club could bring one of those players in for considerably less than £37m and test Everton’s resolve in January or next summer.
Stones is tied to the club until 2019 but if he continues to agitate for a move then they may eventually relent and cash in on their prized asset. Either way, it is time for Chelsea to switch their focus to another player this transfer window as the club still has holes at the back they need to fill and Everton simply will not budge.
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