Everton defender John Stones has reportedly handed in a transfer request in a bid to push through a move to Chelsea.
According to Sky Sports, the England international has informed the club that he wishes to leave and wants to make it official by handing in a request.
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Chelsea have already had several bids rejected for the 21-year-old, including their latest which was reportedly around £30m.
However, Everton have been resolute all summer long and have insisted that the player is not for sale given that Roberto Martinez rates him very highly and believes he is an integral part of his team.
While that appeared to be enough to ensure that he remained at Goodison Park for the time being, the club’s plans will have taken a huge hit with the latest development.
It remains to be seen whether or not Stones is granted his wish, as Everton could yet decide to reject it and force him to continue playing for them.
However, the precedent in these cases suggest that they will ultimately look at selling him for the best possible price and may do so quickly in order to identify potential replacements.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are looking to build for the future and have evidently identified Stones as the eventual successor to John Terry.
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