Blues to renew interest in Premier League ace.
Chelsea are reportedly set to make a second offer for Everton centre-back John Stones within the next 48 hours, according to claims by the Daily Mirror.
The Blues will try their luck with a bid of around £26m for the England international, having previously failed with an opening offer of £20m, according to the Guardian.
It seems pretty clear that Everton are determined to keep the highly-rated youngster, who has become a key part of their defence in the last year-and-a-half, showing himself to be one of the top young defenders in the English game and perhaps Europe.
Chelsea see Stones as an ideal long-term replacement for club legend John Terry, who turns 35 next season and who may be unable to repeat his incredible achievement of playing every single minute of the team’s 2014/15 title-winning season.
According to the Mirror, Everton may be about to turn this bid down as well, with the Toffees supposedly keen on bringing in as much as £34m for the 21-year-old if he is to leave this summer.
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Chelsea’s rumoured second bid is some way off that, and it remains to be seen if they would improve it further or if some kind of compromise can be reached on a more reasonable fee, with the Mirror adding that a fee of £34m would make Stones the most expensive defender in British football history.
Despite looking a top talent, it is questionable if Chelsea would be wise to pay that much for a player at this early stage of his career, as he may still have much to prove at the top level of the game.