Blues boss reveals transfer interest.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he is ready to try again with a bid to sign Everton defender John Stones this summer, according to the Daily Mirror.
The 21-year-old has emerged as one of the Blues’ top targets in the last few days, with Everton already rejecting a bid of £20m earlier this week, according to a report in the Guardian.
Still, it seems that Mourinho is very publicly courting the player, insisting he has until the end of the transfer window to strike an agreement with the Toffees if they are willing to negotiate.
Athough Chelsea had the strongest defence in the Premier League last season, it may be that the club are targeting the impressive Stones as a long-term replacement for club captain John Terry, who will turn 35 next season and is surely no longer able to play as often as he did last term, when he surpassed expectations by featuring in every single minute of the team’s Premier League title-winning campaign.
Stones, meanwhile, has looked a top talent since making his breakthrough at Goodison Park, and it is little surprise to see top clubs after him, with the Daily Mirror also reporting that Manchester United and Manchester City could rival Chelsea for his signature this summer.
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Although unsuccessful so far, Mourinho still seems hopeful of a deal, saying: “At the moment Everton say, ‘We don’t accept this bid’. They don’t say, ‘We don’t accept any bid.’
“While they say, ‘We don’t accept this bid’, until September 1 [when the summer transfer window closes] we can improve it. One pound more, ten pounds more – we can improve the bid. It is an open market until September 1.
“We don’t deny we made a bid for Stones. It means we are trying to buy.”