Roberto Martinez, the Everton manager, suggests that the John Stones to Chelsea transfer saga is far from over.
The Toffees, against all the odds, kept hold of the England international in the summer window, despite four offers from the reigning English champions, with the final bid said to have been a staggering £37m.
Stones even handed in a transfer request in an attempt to force through a move to Stamford Bridge; however, the Merseyside outfit were adamant that they would not be selling a key player.
And while their stance remains the same, Martinez expects the saga to continue in the winter window, but insists that only a decision that suits the interest of the club will be made.
The Spanish boss explained: “At the moment, you are not making a decision to delay it for another window. You don’t do that”, as quoted by the Daily Express.
“You make a decision based on, ‘What do we need now?’ Can you replace a player now? ‘Can we get a stronger squad by losing a player now?’
“The decision, clearly, now is John is in a perfect position to be important now for how we want to play now.
“We have very young players ready to kick on, like Ross Barkley, Romelu Lukaku and John Stones and it was about keeping that core.”
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Chelsea visited Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon, and Stones started the exciting clash, as the Blues lost their third game of the season after just five games.