Exclusive: Chelsea's £40m bid to beat Manchester United to Everton ace John Stones

Chelsea are ready to go back in for Everton star John Stones

 

CHELSEA will relaunch their £40million bid to sign Everton defender John Stones as soon as the transfer window opens in January as manager Jose Mourinho bids to kick-start his side's Premier League title defence.

Mourinho failed with four bids to land Stones in a summer-long transfer tug of war but still believes he can prise the star away from Everton.

News News Blog Sport understands that he has the support of owner Roman Abramovich who agrees that Stones could be pivotal in getting Chelsea out of the Premier League hole that they're in.

Mourinho also hopes that another bid would encourage the player himself to pressure Everton to allow him to move.

The Chelsea boss - under intense pressure himself at Stamford Bridge after their woeful domestic results - will make his fifth bid for Stones, 21, early in the New Year.

Stones still has three-and-a-half years left on his contract and the news that Chelsea are back in for the player will be something that Toffees boss Roberto Martinez has been dreading.

Everton are hoping to bag a Champions League slot so there will be another seesaw battle over the young star between the clubs, this time condensed into a shorter January window time frame.

Chelsea may eventually have to up their price to £45m – but key to any move now rather than in the summer could depend on what the player himself wants to do.

Manchester United are also reported to be readying a bid but Stones would be more likely to move south after a wooing campaign in the summer by Mourinho.