Soccer Transfer News: Everton To Reject John Stones Transfer Request
Roberto Martinez is to formally reject John Stones' transfer request and would want the club to move on from the unnecessary publicity the transfer drama has garnered. The Everton manager thinks it was merely the "pressure from people and outside influences" that forced the young defender to ask for a trade in the first place.
Martinez caught up with media members after Everton's 5-3 victory at Barnsley in the second round of the Capital One Cup on Wednesday evening. He reiterated that Stones was not for sale. He even announced to Chelsea that "money can't buy everything."
The 42-year-old manager lauded his young defender's performance during the win. However, he had some icy remarks to the league on how they should go about the transfer window.
"For a young man under massive pressure he was terrific. I am repeating myself but it is wrong for the football authorities to allow the window to remain open when there are important games taking place. When there is an opportunity to go to Wembley and to win silverware that should be respected and we shouldn't put our players under this massive pressure," he reportedly said.
He made it a point to not entertain Stones' transfer request to avoid distracting the squad prior to their match at Barnsley.
"We have not rejected it yet because today was a match day and that was our priority. We will reject it in the morning and get on with our business," The Guardian quoted Martinez as saying.
His comments even made it to Everton's official Twitter account.
It an earlier report, Chelsea was to send their last and most lucrative bid for Stones after they learned he had handed over his transfer request at Everton.
Their earlier bids of £20 million, £26 million, and £30 million for the 21-year-old have been sent back by Everton each time. The defending Premier League champions seemed determined to land Stones since they see him as John Terry's potential long-term replacement.
The Stamford Bridge squad was even prepared to shed off £40 million to acquire Stones. It would have been the new English Premier League signing record for an English defender. However if Everton's Spanish manager is to be believed, Man-U's current record for Rio Ferdinand worth £29.1 million back in 2002 wouldn't be broken any time soon.
"We've got great ambition for John and it has clearly got to the point now where, in football as in life, money can't buy everything. That's going to be a very strong statement at Everton. We want to build a winning team and so we want to keep our best performers. John is a big part of our future," Martinez said.
Stones is set to join the England squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against San Marino and Switzerland this coming September.
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