Chelsea will have to launch a bid in the region of £30million if they are to tempt Premier League rivals Everton into selling highly-rated defender John Stones, Guardian Sport reports.
The Blues saw an opening offer of £20million rejected by the Toffees over the weekend as the Merseyside outfit made it clear that they have no intentions of selling the 21-year-old this summer.
However, according to reports in the British media, a bid in which eclipses the £29.1million spent by Manchester United on Rio Ferdinand in 2002 could be enough to secure the services of Stones.
Jose Mourinho is understood to be confident in landing the young defender before the transfer window closes in just over a month’s time despite the fact that Toffees boss Roberto Martinez becoming unhappy with how the reigning champions of England have conducted themselves in regards to signing Stones.
The Spaniard insists the West London outfit have received a letter stating the player is not for sale, but Mourinho is standing strong on claims that Stones has a price-tag.
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It remains to be seen whether or not Chelsea will bid as much as £30million for Stones but that type offer would surely prove too difficult for Everton to resist as they would be recouping 10 times the transfer fee they paid Barnsley in 2013.