According to Sky Sports, Everton have turned down a £25million bid from Chelsea for highly-rated youngster John Stones.
The Premier League champions had already seen a bid of around £20million turned down for the England international and are now believed to have raised their offer.
Happy
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has recently stated that he is happy with the current strength of his squad, yet continues to pursuit the signing of the youngster.
Everton have stated that Stones is not for sale, but the Blues do not seem to be put off by the Toffees stance on the situation.
The defender cost he Toffees just £3million when he arrived from Barnsley in January 2013 and was David Moyes last signing as Everton boss.
Highly-rated
John Stones is one of the most highly-rated young defenders in the English game and has been touted as a future regular for the England side.
Last season the 21-year-old established himself in the Toffees defence and regularly partnered England international Phil Jagielka in the Everton backline.
The new season will be his first as an established first team starter and he will gain valuable experience on Merseyside.
However a move to Chelsea would give him a better chance of winning silverware, but is likely going to mean him being on the Blues bench for long periods of time.
Development
At this point of his career John Stones needs to be playing regular first team football. He has that at a decent club where he can play week-in week-out, so maybe a move to Chelsea this summer would not be the right one for the youngster.
Should Chelsea continue their pursuit of John Stones?
