Merseyside club wary of Chelsea interest
Everton are to delay contract talks with defender John Stones after he was told to focus on returning to top form.
The centre-back has recently returned from a knee injury, but he was not up to scratch during the Toffees‘ 3-0 home loss to Manchester United on Saturday.
Stones was close to leaving Goodison Park over the summer, with Premier League champions Chelsea making several formal bids.
The Blues were desperate to sign the defender, with the highest bid coming in at around £37million.
However, all offers were turned down by Roberto Martinez, keeping Stones in Merseyside for the time being.
After the 21-year-old’s future was sealed over the summer, Everton wanted to offer him a new and improved contract, as they don’t feel his £30k-a-week deal represents his talent.
Despite Stones still having three-years on his current deal, a new one was expected to be tabled, but Martinez has confirmed that for now, talks are not on the agenda.
Martinez Reveals Plans
“Again, it’s not a time to talk about any individuals,” said Martinez. “It’s a good, stable position and I don’t want to touch that.
“The focus now is just on performing, playing in games; it’s not a moment to look into individual situations.”
“The focus for him is just to get back from injuries,” he added. “He’s got an incredible appetite and desire to get back to the levels he showed at the beginning of the season and at the moment the contract situation is something that we do very well here behind the scenes.
“We keep a track on everything, and the focus for the players is to be ready to perform at the weekend.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
