Football
Kevin Palmer 9y

Everton's Roberto Martinez eager to keep John Stones amid Chelsea bids

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has vowed to do all he can to keep in-demand centre-back John Stones, after a summer that has seen his club reject two bids from Chelsea for the 21-year-old defender.

Reports suggest the Premier League champions have lodged offers of £20 and 26 million to sign the rising England star, but Martinez has made it clear that his club are not prepared to sanction a deal for the player he sees as a crucial part of Everton's future.

"He is one of the most talented centre-backs in European football and we feel we have a special footballer with us," Martinez told reporters. "There is nothing to discuss and teams putting bids in for him doesn't mean anything.

"You're going to get clubs that are working with big budgets because they have been working in the Champions League, but we are a club with nine league titles. We are a big club.

"What we want is to build and what we want to do is concentrate on the future and we are not a selling club by any means. The situation with John is as you would expect.

"On the outside it seems turmoil and many things happening, but internally John comes in and trains and needs to try to earn his place and keep improving, keep taking responsibility in the group and nothing else."

^ Back to Top ^