Chelsea Offer £45m for John Terry Replacement, Competes with Man Utd and Barcelona

Chelsea, looks like, are not ready to give up on their pursuit of Everton defender John Stones. According to recent claims made by Spanish publication Fichajes, the Blues have made a £44.2 million bid for the Everton defender.

The Blues tried to sign the England international during the summer transfer, but all of their three bids were rejected by the Toffees. Their final bid of £37 million prompted the young defender to place a transfer request, but the Merseyside refused to budge from their stance.

Chelsea see Stones as a long-term replacement for John Terry, and Mourinho’s failure to sign the player in the summer played a huge part in his sacking last month.  The 21-year-old, over the last season, has emerged as one of the best defensive prospects in world football. Recent reports claimed that even Man Utd and Barcelona are interested in his services.

But a move for the player will prove to be extremely difficult given the stance of Everton manager Roberto Martinez, who is adamant about keeping the top youth talent at the club.

“It doesn’t matter if a club comes in. We created a squad during the summer to see how far we could go over the season,” he said. “We’ll never lose anyone in January, unless it’s somebody who hasn’t been playing and we need to find a solution. If he’s a top performer, it’s not even a consideration.”

The Toffees signed Stones on a £3 million deal from Barnsley on a five and a half year deal in January 2013. Since then he has established himself in the first team of the club and has made 63 league appearances. He has featured in 18 of Toffees’ 20 Premier League games this season.
He is a regular member of the England national team now and has made seven appearances for the Three Lions.