26. John Stones - Pirlo eat your heart out!

Chelsea are set to give up their attempt to sign Everton centre-back John Stones, 21, and instead move for Monaco's Tunisian defender Aymen Abdennour, 26, in a deal worth £15m. (Daily Mail)

The President wrote:Chelsea are set to give up their attempt to sign Everton centre-back John Stones, 21, and instead move for Monaco's Tunisian defender Aymen Abdennour, 26, in a deal worth £15m. (Daily Mail)

Amen to that

Blue gazza wrote:

The President wrote:Chelsea are set to give up their attempt to sign Everton centre-back John Stones, 21, and instead move for Monaco's Tunisian defender Aymen Abdennour, 26, in a deal worth £15m. (Daily Mail)

Amen to that

To really rub it in, we should sign him as well as keeping stones.

Sun still running hard with their 'fan abuse' story. Still hoping they can push through the deal before Tuesday then. While I blame Chelsea a lot for this saga, its feels like every Tabloid and journo has staked their reputation on this deal going through. Maybe its because its out club, but it feels like this type of behavior has reached a whole new level. Its like everyone knows but really doesn't know if this deal will go through.

Bluejagz wrote:Sun still running hard with their 'fan abuse' story. Still hoping they can push through the deal before Tuesday then. While I blame Chelsea a lot for this saga, its feels like every Tabloid and journo has staked their reputation on this deal going through. Maybe its because its out club, but it feels like this type of behavior has reached a whole new level. Its like everyone knows but really doesn't know if this deal will go through.

I am pretty certain that there are agent provocateurs afoot... if not by Stones agent but by other agents generally who might not like the idea of a club not caving and sticking to the contract they (their charge) and the club have all agreed to and signed. If the incoming TV money is sufficient to fuel the clubs' ambitions and to resist the moves of the larger clubs (including us when we sniff at Leicester, West Ham and Wigan players) then suddenly the earning model for professional footballers just got a whole lot different. And that is perhaps the real story to emerge from this wholly unwanted and unwarranted affair

There was a load of stuff about abuse and death threats when the Rooney deal was going through. That was another transfer that the media were desperate to make happen as well.

More rubbish, this time from the Express. We have really rattled the press! http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/601704/Exclusive-Chelsea-John-Stones-Jose-Mourinho-Everton-Roberto-Martinez-transfer-news-gossip

Helenqu wrote:More rubbish, this time from the Express. We have really rattled the press! http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/601704/Exclusive-Chelsea-John-Stones-Jose-Mourinho-Everton-Roberto-Martinez-transfer-news-gossip

Wasn't Gerrard similarly treated when he was will he/won't he join Chelsea?

Hats off to Bill and Roberto for digging their heels in and telling Chelsea where to go. We have the best young English Defender which is something to celebrate

"Money can't buy you Stones !!!"

Saw today that stones moved out of his house before he put his request to move in as he was worried about security! Had absolutely nothing to do with th move and threats from Everton fans just more shit made up by the press!!!

Everton's 21-year-old England defender John Stones, who is wanted by Chelsea, will seek a £38m release clause if he is to sign a new deal with the Toffees. (Daily Mail)

The President wrote:Everton's 21-year-old England defender John Stones, who is wanted by Chelsea, will seek a £38m release clause if he is to sign a new deal with the Toffees. (Daily Mail)

So Everton want to pay him more but sell him for a fee they rejected last month? The papers really have to come up with better then this.

Lumper wrote:

The President wrote:Everton's 21-year-old England defender John Stones, who is wanted by Chelsea, will seek a £38m release clause if he is to sign a new deal with the Toffees. (Daily Mail)

So Everton want to pay him more but sell him for a fee they rejected last month?  The papers really have to come up with better then this.

Indeed. The game is awash with money at the top level, you just have to look at the fees the Sky money clubs are willing to pay for "potential". If he does insist on a release clause (which I doubt) then it would be £60m minimum I should think.

Why would we offer a player with 4 years left on his contract a new deal?

On top of that why would we ever allow a clause to be entered which meant he would be off in January/Next August.

So let's get this straight! We will pay you more a week from now on so we can allow you to leave in the next transfer window for an amount we rejected last time? Fucking common sense anyone... I fucking hate journos

The more time we get on his contract the less likelihood of him leaving for cheap. We had a buy out clause for Felliaini, but he still left for more money.

Doesn't he have something like 4 years left on his contract? Why would we renegotiage a contract that is worse for us at this point?

Tonteau wrote:The more time we get on his contract the less likelihood of him leaving for cheap. We had a buy out clause for Felliaini, but he still left for more money.

At the point when Fellaini was transferred he had no buy-out clause, or at least the one he had at the start of that particular transfer window had expired. That scenario was very much a one-off.

We have made it clear that Stones isn't for sale at £38m. If he wants more money then he would have to accept that the value of his get-out clauseis not likely to be a value that we've already expressed a desire to not sell at.

Real Madrid will move for Everton's John Stones, 21, if French defender Raphael Varane, 22, leaves. (TalkSport)

The President wrote:Real Madrid will move for Everton's John Stones, 21, if French defender Raphael Varane, 22, leaves. (TalkSport)

http://www.offthepost.info/blog/2015/09/real-madrid-plot-to-pip-chelsea-to-john-stones-deal/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+offthepost%2FTLAa+%28Off+The+Post%29

SouthernSmugToffee wrote:

The President wrote:Real Madrid will move for Everton's John Stones, 21, if French defender Raphael Varane, 22, leaves. (TalkSport)

http://www.offthepost.info/blog/2015/09/real-madrid-plot-to-pip-chelsea-to-john-stones-deal/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+offthepost%2FTLAa+%28Off+The+Post%29

its all bollox, an offhand comment that went viral and became a mainstream "rumour"

http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/topics/how-an-everton-scout-s-innocent-comment-sent-john-stones-to-real-

I will play along...

To be honest I wouldn't stand in the way of that move if I were Roberto. Daft money and he is bound to end up wanting to come back after a couple of seasons when they have bought the next "big thing" and he ends up on the bench

Buy him back on the cheap with loads of European experience......ermm..... for when we play Barnet away like!!!

Dropped out of the England squad due to his injury.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34460729

Obviously not as close to being ready as Bobby would have us believe.

Barry Horne's Equaliser wrote:Dropped out of the England squad due to his injury.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34460729

Obviously not as close to being ready as Bobby would have us believe.

He clearly shouldn't have been called up in the first place.

Armchair wrote:

Barry Horne's Equaliser wrote:Dropped out of the England squad due to his injury.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34460729

Obviously not as close to being ready as Bobby would have us believe.

He clearly shouldn't have been called up in the first place.

Potentially though that's Bobby's fault for suggesting he only just missed out this weekend (and last).