Chelsea will hand Everton’s John Stones the No.6 jersey if he puts pen-to-paper on a deal with the Blues.
The news comes from the Daily Mail, who claim that the Premier League champions are set to increase their original offer from £20m to £26m for the England international, and are ready to hand the youngster the honour of a major squad number.
According to the report, the Blues have set aside the No.6 shirt – formerly worn by Stamford Bridge legend Marcel Desailly and former defensive star Ricardo Carvalho – for the 21-year-old.
Jose Mourinho is said to want Stones to become the new mainstay in central defence, with John Terry, 34, reaching the latter stages of his career, and Gary Cahill having been shaky in his performances at times last season.
It seems the Toffees centre-back is now a major target for Chelsea – who are keen to increase the quality in their ranks having so far only signed Radamel Falcao and Asmir Begovic ahead of the 2015-16 campaign.
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