Chelsea have had a £20 million offer for Everton defender John Stones turned down by the merseyside side, but according to media reports, the Premier League champion are already preparing a second bid for the 21-year-old defender.
Everton are holding out for a British record fee of £32 million for a defender, and they might get it. Of all players aged 21 or under, only Harry Kane (7.28), Raheem Sterling (7.27) and Hector Bellerín (7.19) gained a better WhoScored rating than Stones (7.17) in the Premier League last season. The fact that the trio of performers ahead of the defender in the list played for one of England’s top six teams last term only accentuates Stones’ current ability with a scope to improve. It’s no wonder, in that case, that Chelsea have looked to spend big to convince the Toffees to part ways with one of their prized assets.
Currently Chelsea have only Terry, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma on their books as first team centre-back options, so it is clear while Jose Mourinho is interested in Stones, who averaged more tackles per league game (1.4) last season than the Chelsea trio.
But what probably interests Mourinho the most about Stones is his passing ability. In the modern game you have to build from the back and Stones averages more passes per game (45.1) than any Chelsea defender, while only Terry (89.6%) boasted a marginally superior pass accuracy than his young compatriot (89.5%).
What do you think of John Stones? Is he the central defender Chelsea need?
