Chelsea to make £26m Stones bid – sources

Chelsea are ready to step up their efforts to sign Everton defender John Stones and make a second bid of £26 million, sources have told ESPN FC.

Chelsea have already seen a £20m bid for the England international rejected by Everton, with manager Roberto Martinez voicing his anger at how the Blues made their pursuit of the player public.

Stones, 21, has impressed at Everton since joining from Barnsley in 2013 and has made 54 appearances during his first two seasons at the club.

He was named on Roy Hodgson’s standby list for last year’s World Cup in Brazil and made his full England debut in a friendly win over Peru in May.

Chelsea boss Mourinho sees Stones as a long-term replacement for current Chelsea captain John Terry and envisages Stones and Kurt Zouma as a future central defensive partnership.

However, with Manchester City and Manchester United also monitoring the situation, sources told ESPN FC that he is keen to make another move to tie the defender down.

Everton insist Stones is not for sale with the player still having four years to run on his current deal and the player himself has said he is happy at Goodison Park, although sources told ESPN FC he could be keen to continue his development at Stamford Bridge with the promise of a lucrative contract.

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