John Stones, the same lad whom Chelsea FC pursued during last summer’s transfer window, has suddenly turned up on four other top teams’ radars.
Stones, for whom Chelsea made a bid of around £40 million, has now become a top billing in the European football circuit.
The Everton defender had a brilliant last season for Roberto Martinez’s Merseyside squad, despite an 11th-placed finish in the league.
Stones performances this season, after a string of failures in his transfer moves, have been nothing but horrendous. His defensive frailties were visibly exposed against Swansea, who are now under new boss Francesco Guidolin.
Stones, who has been criticised for playing his way out of trouble in his own box, produced an unexpected shocker, as he tried to flick a backpass to Tim Howard, Everton’s goalkeeper.
The ill-timed pass allowed Andre Ayew to nip in his ninth goal of the season and give the lead to the Swans. Seventeen minutes gone, Everton had looked the better team in all facets before the blunder.
That set the tone for the rest of the match as the Swans safeguarded their lead to emerge as 2-1 winners.
What is more astonishing, however, is the latest reports dominating the headlines
that Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have already made their intentions clear that getting the 21-year-old’s signature would be a potential bargain.
They would definitely be fighting tooth and nail to make the move, most possibly next summer, especially if Everton fails to make the Europa League cut.
Liam Sheedy
Roar Guru
Time for Everton to cash in. He has all the attributes to be one of the best defenders in the world, but his head has been turned and he does not want to be at Everton.