He has been one of the English game’s most sought after footballers, and there are a host of clubs running after his signature. He is none other than John Stones, the Everton centre-back who is being valued at 50 million pounds. Apparently, Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona have all been monitoring him, but Manchester United are the club who have been repeatedly linked with him. However, Jose Mourinho has come out recently to say that he sees Chris Smalling and Phil Jones as his number one centre back pairing, and with the signing of the Villareal defender Eric Bailly and with Daley Blind having performed really well last year, it seems likely that we have pulled out from the race to sign the young Englishman.

In my opinion, it will be a good move from the Portuguese to clear the air about the probable transfer rumour, as it will settle the team and give a big confidence boost to the players. Also, John Stones is a fine player, but he isn’t exactly a Mourinho type defender— he goes out of position of, loses the ball in midfield when he goes on his trademark runs from deep and has little or no experience in dealing with the pressure that inevitably comes with from playing for one of the greatest clubs in the world. Moreover, Phil Jones, who has suffered a miserable career for us so far, plagued by injuries, deserves to get his due chance. The former Blackburn Rovers man, who was bought by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011, was back then, one of the country’s most highly rated youngsters. Jose is the kind of manager who knows to keep his players fit, and one hopes he can work his magic for the 23-year-old

The former Blackburn Rovers man, who was bought by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011, was back then, one of the country’s most highly rated youngsters. Jose is the kind of manager who knows to keep his players fit, and one hopes he can work his magic for the 23-year-old centre-back as well. Above all this, when you consider the fact that we have the likes of Tyler Blackett, Axel Tuanzabe, and Paddy Mcnair, all academy graduates waiting to get a break, it seems absolutely right that we did not invest so much money in another budding footballer again.