Why John Stones IS worth a record fee – but should not leave Everton this summer.

“John Stones is not for sale. End of.”
That was the point that Everton manager Roberto Martinez once again re-affirmed when asked about the youngster’s possible departure during his press conference ahead of the Toffees’ clash with Southampton this weekend – another club who are used to having their most prized assets linked with big-money moves to the established elite.

Over the course of the past month, since Chelsea’s first bid of ￡20million for Stones was rejected, a media frenzy has grown out of proportion, encompassing every outlet on an almost consistent basis. And hardly ever, has there been such an obvious bias towards trying to prise one of England’s bright young talents towards pastures new.

Not every news article or comment piece written is guilty of this, but for the most part, the media have seemingly decided that Stones’ rightful place is at Stamford Bridge, rather than at Goodison Park.

Only today, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson claimed that it would be better for Stones’ development to play 10 games at Chelsea than 30 at Everton, while José Mourinho resorted to having his players do his media-dirty-work for him.

And while I do not wish this article to be a bitter response to one of Everton’s best being linked with a move away, it is easy to understand the frustration of Evertonians regarding this situation.

Ever since the first bid was rejected, Martinez has insisted that Stones was not for sale. However, the media (and Mourinho, who is proving that his puppet-mastery is still as strong as ever) chose to ignore this statement, instead indicating that a bid of ￡25million would be enough. Why wouldn’t Stones want to move to Chelsea? Why wouldn’t Everton accept that money?

Somewhat predictably, Chelsea’s second offering of approximately ￡25million was also rebuffed, with Martinez once again reaffirming that Stones was not for sale. Once again, these statements were ignored and, to add fuel to the fire, most media outlets ran with the story that Stones had told the Goodison hierarchy of his desire to make the switch down south, though no evidence of such a conversation has thus far being provided.

So, we now await the inevitable bid of ￡30million, which would edge Stones’ valuation closer to that of Rio Ferdinand’s when he made the move from Leeds to Manchester United in 2002.

However, an article was published in The Telegraph by Alistair Tweedale, claiming that Chelsea should not pay a record fee for the former Barnsley man.

And while I cannot agree with Mr Tweedale’s comments in regards to Stones’ value, I do agree that he would not have an immediate effect on Chelsea’s first team set up. Hypothetically, if Everton were willing to sell, then Stones is already worth much more than ￡30million, especially if they were negotiating with a club that just last summer sold the hapless David Luiz for ￡40million.

Everton’s home clash with Watford last weekend, in which Stones was partially at fault for the visitors’ second strike, proved that the defender still has a lot to learn, but to the Toffees at least, the 20-year-old is worth much more than the figures being branded around in the red tops and online.

Stones missed almost a third of last season after picking up an ankle injury in a 2-1 loss to Manchester United. During that time, Everton suffered greatly from a lack of composure at the back, especially for a team that focuses so much on retaining possession across all areas of the pitch.

Stones’ composure, both on-and-off the ball, is his key attribute. He very rarely gets beaten in one-on-ones’, and though he is not the quickest, his reading of the game and positional awareness are excellent. The difference in the quality of Everton’s defending when Stones returned to the squad in January was as plain as night and day, and without the draw of European football or mega wages, Everton would struggle to attract a player as good as Stones is already even if they had vast amounts of money to spend.

However, a key part of Stones’ rapid development so far has been his ability to learn from his mistakes immediately, rather than take several weeks to adjust his game.

Stones dived in early against Odion Ighalo on Saturday, and the striker was able to simply skirt round him and fire low into the bottom right corner, but it is almost certain that, should a similar situation arise against Southampton this weekend, Stones will instead stand his ground.

Under Martinez, when Stones has made an error, the manager has not shot him down, or taken him out of the team. He has instead encouraged the player to simply learn from his mistakes. Something that Stones has done superbly.

Under Mourinho, I fear that the same could not be said, and would most likely result in limited game time for a player who needs 90 minutes regularly to continue his rise to the top.

Stones has also formed a solid partnership with Phil Jagielka, who, for one reason or another, seems to be the forgotten man in this saga, despite having captained England on several occasions.

While it cannot be argued that Stones would benefit greatly from playing alongside the likes of John Terry, Jagielka has proved to be a more than capable role model so far.

I have no doubt that Stones will go on to become on of the best players of his generation. I have no doubt that he will move to a club challenging for the highest honours within the next few seasons. But for the time being, he is in the right place. This time next year, he could well be worth double what he is already – he certainly has the capability of making that happen. But that should only make Everton’s resolve to keep him even stronger.

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