After much criticism of Chelsea FC’s failure to secure the signing of John Stones last summer, it has since been proven a fortunate miss.
John Stones was the subject of an intense and somewhat distasteful transfer saga last summer. The promising Everton centre-back was linked with a move to Chelsea FC with the story progressing from rumours to public admission on Jose Mourinho’s behalf of the Blues’ pursuit.
However, this campaign has seen the youngster slide downhill with severe doubts now hanging over his true potential. As a result, Chelsea fans should be counting their lucky stars that the club did not offer the ludicrous amount that would have reportedly met Everton’s value.
The Blues were originally rebuffed with bids ranging from £30 million to £40 million. Mourinho’s public statement of their intent to sign Stones then provoked Roberto Martinez’s fury and, if anything, only made a deal less likely.
Everton seemed to value the 21-year-old at around £50 million but Chelsea were unwilling to meet such a mark. At the time, fans lambasted the club for failing to secure what appeared like a crucial defensive signing and their anger was only augmented by the poor start to the club’s season.
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However, as we approach the end of the campaign, Stones is looking further and further away from the world-class defender he was touted to be.
The Englishman’s form since the turn of the year has seen him be dropped by Martinez, in addition to being substituted midway through games. In fact, his latest performance (against Liverpool) saw him be replaced just after the hour mark after a disappointing display that saw him liable for at least one of the hosts’ four goals.
If Chelsea had spent £50 million for these performances, anger would have probably been even greater. Furthermore, with the underperformance of the club’s other multi-million pound stars, it would have acted like the proverbial salt in the wound.
Having said that, there are of course caveats to this argument and these should be addressed. Had Chelsea bought the player, there is no guarantee that he would have suffered under the guidance of the more defensive-minded Mourinho.
Additionally, with the likes of John Terry and Gary Cahill to play alongside, he may have been spared some of what could be deemed as overexposure. Having remained at Goodison Park, Stones was essentially viewed as the main man in his third. At Chelsea, he would have been an understudy to the senior players, bled into the first-team gradually.
It was not a realistic reflection of his value at the time and this season has proven this sentiment to be correct
Meanwhile, even if Stones was to show a similar decline after joining the Blues, it would not immediately render the move a mistake. All players go through peaks and troughs, especially during their development stages, and Stones could easily emerge from this rough patch as a stronger and better player.
However, on an absolute level, Chelsea were fortunate to be priced out of the market. Stones’ asking price was driven up as a consequence of hyperbole and hype. It was simply not a realistic reflection of his value at the time and this season has proven this sentiment to be correct.
There are very few Blues fans who will be able to admit that they were against the player’s signing eight months ago. This writer, for certain, is not one of them. However, almost everyone can now agree that the club are better off for failing to sign him.
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As for Stones himself, he may still become a world-class player in the future. This episode, though, has shown that you can never accurately predict the value of such a raw and unharnessed talent.