Everton boss Roberto Martinez says the Toffees will do all they can to hold onto star defender John Stones.
The 21-year-old has been heavily linked with a big-money move to Premier League champions Chelsea, with the Blues reportedly already having bids of £20m and £26m rejected by the Merseyside club.
Stones worryingly limped off the field during Duncan Ferguson’s testimonial match against Villarreal on Sunday, but Martinez is confident of holding onto the “special” defender.
“You’re going to get clubs that are working with big budgets because they have been working in the Champions League. But we are a club with nine league titles and you’ve seen today we celebrated a special memory,” Martinez is quoted as saying by The Mirror.
“We are a big club. What we want is to build and what we want to do is concentrate on the future and we are not a selling club by any means. The situation with John is as you would expect.
“He is one of the most talented centre-backs in European football and we feel we have a special footballer with us.
“There is nothing to discuss and teams putting bids in for him doesn’t mean anything.”
Stones is contracted to Everton until mid-2019 and the Toffees would only allow the centre-back to leave should Chelsea put forward a mammoth fee.
Manchester City and Manchester United are also reported to be interested in Stones, and Everton will be hoping their interest will drive the former Barnsley man’s price even further up.
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