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| Rio Ferdinand believes John Stones should stay at Everton where he'll be guaranteed game time |
RIO FERDINAND last night told John Stones that he would be a "lunatic" to sign for Chelsea and consign himself to the substitute's bench at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have had two bids, the last one of £26 million, rejected by Everton for England defender Stones, but manager Jose Mourinho has made the 21-year-old a priority.
He is expected to go in with a third offer in the next few days.
But former Manchester United skipper Ferdinand believes that Stones should go to Old Trafford instead, where manager Louis Van Gaal also wants him.
Ferdinand believes that Van Gaal desperately needs new defenders, and is adamant that the Dutchman is under huge pressure this season, after spending £80 million on new players this summer, and a whopping £230m since he has been at the club.
He also thinks that Van Gaal has to finish at least second and win a trophy - or possibly face the sack.
Former Barnsley player Stones is the defender everybody wants this summer, but Ferdinand, who made 455 appearances for United in six years at the club, said: "For any young footballer to leave a club to sit on the bench, you've got to be a lunatic.
"If John Stones goes to Manchester United, he plays every week so that's the right club for him. If he goes to Chelsea, he's not. And he's at that stage of his development where he wants to play every week.
"I'd buy Stones if I'm United. You're buying someone who's going to give you 10 years service. He's a great prospect, the best young centre-half in the country at the moment. It's a no-brainer for me.
"Stones is the real deal. I watched him at QPR against Bobby Zamora, who gave most centre-halves problems physically, and he handled Bobby well. He looked up for that battle.
"The difference is the mentality. Going to a team like United he's got to be up on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, and then win, lose or draw be up again for Saturday. Every game there is huge expectation. Mentally can you deal with that?
"As the No1 centre half, he is not going to be able to go in under the radar and bed in at United. But for Chelsea he probably goes in as an understudy."
Ferdinand believes that United simply have to make to a good start this season or Van Gaal, after spending big on players like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian and Memphis Depay this summer, could be facing real problems.
He said: "Of course he is under pressure to win the league. Or at least to improve and finish second. United need to be finishing minimum in second place this year and get their hands on a trophy.
"You have to show that there has been an improvement when you spend a lot of money. This is a massive season. He's had last season and a whole pre-season to drill his ideas and philosophy into these players - so there are no excuses."
But there are still problems, Ferdinand believes: "I don't think Van Gaal knows his best defence. He hasn't had a chance to watch them all play over a long time. United need a good start. Their start last year was shocking. The pressure is huge for Wayne Rooney too. He has got a big season ahead of him. He has to score 20-25 goals this season, for United to be successful."
• Rio Ferdinand was speaking at a BT Sport media event to launch the broadcasters football coverage for the coming season. BT Sport 1 has the first game of the new Barclays Premier League season with Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur this Saturday from noon, the first of 38 exclusively live Barclays Premier League games this season on BT Sport.
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