English Premier League champions Chelsea are reportedly readying a second bid for Everton center-back John Stones, tipped as “the next John Terry, after a initial bid of £20m was rejected by the Toffees.
The Blues captain, having signed a new one-year deal recently, enjoyed a stellar 2014-15 campaign, but is 34 years of age, meaning the west London side should search for his successor.
The Special One has identified the 21-year-old Englishman as that man, and is willing to offer him the number 6 jersey for a Stamford Bridge switch, a deal which the Portuguese boss is confident of completing.
Everton, however, are demanding a fee in excess of £30m for their young defender, who has four years to run in his current £30,000-a-week contract at Goodison Park, whilst also denying that Stones will be sold.
“One thing is clear,’ said coach Roberto Martinez, after their 3-1 loss to Arsenal in Saturday’s BAT final. “We pride ourselves in playing a certain way and educating our young players in a manner in which they will always attract attention from elsewhere and that is a footballing compliment.
“The other side is that another club is making a statement in the press so openly and I don’t think that is the way we would do it at Everton. We wouldn’t speak about a player at another club.
“And there is no issue from our point of view. John Stones is an Everton player full stop. We are not a selling club in that respect. There is nothing to speak to John about. I always speak with players but there is nothing to comment about."
Mourinho had a different opinion on whether Everton will sell them John Stones, however, saying: "At the moment they say: 'We don’t accept this bid'. They don’t say: 'We don’t accept bids; any bids'. While they say, 'We don’t accept this bid' until September 1, we can improve the bid: £1 more, £10 more, we can improve the bid.
"If one day Roberto Martinez or the chairman says: 'He’s not for sale; we don’t accept any bid', game over. So during this process, it’s clear, we don’t deny we made a bid for Stones. It means we are trying to buy."
