Everton defender John Stones did not want to put in a transfer request, but felt under "massive pressure" with Chelsea bidding for his services, manager Roberto Martinez has said.
Stones, 21, was the subject of three bids of £20 million, £26m and £30m rejected, but Everton have held firm and insisted that the youngster is not for sale.
The defender, who has a contract at Goodison Park until 2019, put in a transfer request last week but Martinez maintains that he made a mistake.
"Obviously he's been put under massive, massive pressure," Martinez said. "The transfer request was something he didn't mean to do.
"We are going to take extra measures in every window from now on to protect players and help them through, because it is all becoming too much.
"He's already stronger. In the last three or four weeks he's had to mature. We have to give him support and help him so that when he goes away now he feels the Everton support."
Martinez has continued to play Stones, despite the speculation surrounding him, at his former club Barnsley in the Capital One Cup and in the 0-0 draw against Tottenham and the Spanish manager has been impressed with how reliable he is.
"I had windows where I had to leave a player out completely," he added. "And when the window closed, get him back in the team and what that represents, winning his teammates over and the fans over. With John it's very easy because he's a pristine professional."
After the international break, Everton will face Chelsea and the pressure will build again. However, Martinez insists that the defender can handle whatever comes his way.
"He can play in front of 100,000 people," Martinez said. "He can play in a World Cup. John is one of those responsible guys who can lead people.
"When he was very, very young and in the first-team group, he would take information on board and he would be the one who wanted to know about everything. He is not just happy with knowing what his role is."
Stones, who has four England caps, joined Everton from Barnsley for £3m in January 2013.