Chelsea are reportedly set to offer £40m in a bid to beat Manchester United to the signing of Everton defender John Stones.
According to The Express, the reigning Premier League champions will reignite their interest in the England international in the January transfer window despite seeing three bids rejected by the Toffees in the summer.
It is claimed that both Jose Mourinho and Roman Abramovich are in agreement that Stones can play a pivotal part in getting the club on track in the second half of the campaign as they continue to languish near the relegation zone after 16 games.
Having lost to Leicester City on Monday night, the Blues have fallen to defeat in nine of their first 16 outings of the season, and their struggles show no sign of abating as their season goes from bad to worse domestically.
Whether or not they are still able to make the top four remains to be seen, but clearly that hasn’t put them off being active in January with Everton now set to have their resolve tested once more with Stones potentially interested in a move to the capital.
It is suggested that Chelsea may have to increase their offer to £45m in order to finally get their target, although they do face competition from Manchester United, as noted by The Express, with Louis van Gaal also keen on bolstering his defensive options.
Nevertheless, Stones would reportedly favour a move south and so it remains to be seen whether or not Chelsea can reach an agreement with Everton over a fee in the coming weeks.