John Stones

ottosec

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Manchester United make £50m John Stones main target for next summer

Manchester United have identified John Stones as their priority summer transfer target, with the club prepared to break the world-record fee for a defender in order to sign the Everton and England centre-half.

Despite their Champions League exit on Tuesday after defeat against Wolfsburg, United have already drawn up their post-season recruitment plans and there is a determination to fend off anticipated interest from Chelsea in order to sign Stones, whose progress this season is likely to see any fee rise beyond £50m should Everton finally agree to sell the 21-year-old.

Chelsea endured a frustrating two-month pursuit of Stones last summer, with Everton rejecting four bids for the player – the final one from Chelsea being £38m, which was dismissed. In an effort to force a move to Stamford Bridge, Stones submitted a transfer request during the final week of August but again Everton held firm.


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Chelsea are expected to renew their interest in Stones at the end of the season, but with the faltering champions facing a battle to claim a top-four finish, United believe they will have the edge over the London club if they are forced to engage in a bidding war.

Having invested over £300m in new players since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in May 2013, United accept that their squad remains short on the quality required to restore the club to its previous position of domestic dominance.

United have strategically recruited emerging talent in the shape of Luke Shaw (20), Memphis Depay (21) and Anthony Martial (20) in order to build for the future and, with Stones regarded as the most exciting English defender of his generation, he is seen by manager Louis van Gaal and the scouting team as a player who could form a long-term central partnership with Chris Smalling and offer a decade of service in a similar manner to Rio Ferdinand.


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Everton 'open contract talks' with Chelsea transfer target Stones
United broke the world record fee for a defender when paying £29.1m to sign Ferdinand from Leeds in 2002 and there would be little reluctance at the club to pay over the £42m – the current highest figure – which Manchester City paid Porto for Eliaquim Mangala in June 2014.

There is an acceptance within the United hierarchy that persuading Everton to sell will prove difficult, having failed to sign full-back Leighton Baines from Goodison two years ago before ultimately completing a £27.5m deal for Marouane Fellaini – £4m more than the Belgian midfielder’s initial release clause at the Merseyside club.

United also understand that, with all Premier League clubs bolstered by the huge financial rewards of the latest broadcasting deal, outfits previously vulnerable to raids from the Champions League competitors are now more capable of resisting big offers for their players. But with Stones yet to negotiate a new contract at Everton to replace his current deal, which has three years left to run, United believe that the former Barnsley youngster can be bought next summer.

While Stones will be pursued at the end of the season, United are considering a move next month in order to sign an experienced left-back following the loss of defender Marcos Rojo with a dislocated shoulder. With Shaw expected to miss the rest of the season with a broken leg, Rojo’s injury setback has forced Van Gaal to deploy Daley Blind and teenage defender Cameron Borthwick-Jackson at left-back to plug the gap.
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http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...nes-main-target-for-next-summer-a6768751.html
 
50m? Absolutely bonkers. We really can't rely on Jones, and Blind isn't really a CB, but it's not like we're hard pressed for transfer targets. Laporte and Marquinhos could both be avaliable (with PSG just as hard to deal with as Everton will be over Stones).
 
He really is immense, and he is only going to get better. I think the fee is largely irrelevant. It will be significantly weighted to include a number of clauses, like the Martial deal. In today's money Rio Ferdinand cost United just over 42M. I imagine Stones would be in that 40-45M range. We have a good relationship with Everton and will go about negotiations much more respectfully then Everton. If he costs closer to 50M, it will be a fair representation of the league's and club's increased purchasing power.

He is a similar level of talent as Rio was at that age.
 
De Gea / Smalling / Stones / Shaw as 4 of our back 5 would be ridiculous
 
I'm all for it. He's a Manchester United player for certain, and his purchase will he offset by a decent recoup from Jones, who should fetch about 12 I'd guess.
 
£35m plus Jones to Everton. I'd be happy with that. Would compliment Smalling.
 
"Hey guys, United are doing a bit shit lately. January is coming up, shouldn't we start making up stories again?"
 
£50 million sounds a bit steep to be honest, but then someone like Laporte has a £37 million buyout clause too. Stones will likely be a lifer if he signs, and it's always nice to have English players in the first team - with that in mind the £13 million premium shouldn't be that big of a deal. If we sign him, we'll have a defensive core of 3 English players who won't move unless they're pushed out of the club (4 if you include Jones) - so there'll be some form of continuity there for the future, and stability breeds consistency for defenses. Plus, Stones has been better than Laporte this season, infact Laporte has regressed a bit since his 2013/14 La Liga Team of the Year form. Was a bit on the fence in the summer when we were inevitably linked with Stones, in favor of a more experienced defender - but given the ascent of Smalling (and his much improved fitness record), we can manage Stones in the first team.

He still makes errors, and dwells on the ball for too long at times, but in all honesty I've never seen an English central defender who was so accomplished on the ball through the last 15 odd years, and that probably includes Rio Ferdinand. Sometimes he gets too carried away with his superpowers, but I like the kind of cockiness he displays. Can be made to look silly if things go wrong, but with experience and improved decision making, that will get ironed out. Plus, he's a good pure defender already, nor at par with his ability on the ball, but you can see improvements all the time in the defensive aspect of his game. That's something which will improve further with time and match experience. We need someone who can help us build from the back. Blind has done an admirable job, but Stones would fit the bill perfectly for the long haul. The only problem is that he might clash with Smalling, but Stones is quite two footed, and maybe Van Gaal could exclusively train his left leg if it comes to that. lel.

Has impressed Piqué aswell:
There is another English player who has made Pique’s Dream Team, though, and one he thinks offers England hope: John Stones. “Rio Ferdinand and John Terry were the two main central defenders in England. Top-level,” he says. “Now I think John Stones is a really, really, good player. He will have a good career. He’s like Rio, a bit. He’s young and alongside him they probably need one who is more experienced. Jagielka is injured. But Smalling is playing well at Manchester United.”
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...e-Barcelona-would-not-win-Premier-League.html

And I think if we hypothetically appoint Guardiola in the near future, he'd really appreciate someone like Stones at the back.

PS: In terms of intangibles, he's showing a lot of leadership potential already. Sometimes you watch Everton and he's barking instructions like a boss when other defenders his age are more concerned with what they're doing and missing out on the big picture. And he's just 21 too, so in 3-4 seasons he could be a proper commanding presence. We need more vocal leaders in the team too.
 
He's the only CB I am interested in seeing us buy at this point if we are paying big money, if not just buy some older filler and maintain the Smalling/Blind partnership. I know some don't care about it but I would like to see us maintain some British talent in our main 11, and with the midfield and forward line heading more towards foreign players it's at the back where we can get our British quota.

Snow said:
"Hey guys, United are doing a bit shit lately. January is coming up, shouldn't we start making up stories again?"
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In fairness the story is about a summer transfer, not January.
 
Classic Woodward briefing the press that we're going for ronaldo/bale/neymar/stones and whoever else right as we get bad publicity. Nothing more then that. We'd be idiots not to be interested in him in the first place, but it would probably require more then £50m as Chelsea found out last summer.
 
bosnian_red said:
Classic Woodward briefing the press that we're going for ronaldo/bale/neymar/stones and whoever else right as we get bad publicity. Nothing more then that. We'd be idiots not to be interested in him in the first place, but it would probably require more then £50m as Chelsea found out last summer.
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I feel Chelsea got shot down since they left it so late. If they came with a substantial offer earlier they would have been probably been more willing to make a deal since they would have had ample time to use the funds. And Stones should be our number 1 target and I really do not care about the price for him as long as we get him. He really is that good.
 
Snow said:
If United do go for a CB he should be a top priority. Marquinhos is also a very strong candidate.
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If you follow the bit you added on - "in order to sign an experienced left-back following the loss of defender Marcos Rojo."

It's not well written but I think they are saying we know Stones is not an option in January but we are going for an LB then.

If we can't get Stones I would rather see us go cheaper on a CB and keep going with Smalling/Blind which has worked well this season.
 
Devil may care said:
If you follow the bit you added on - "in order to sign an experienced left-back following the loss of defender Marcos Rojo."

It's not well written but I think they are saying we know Stones is not an option in January but we are going for an LB then.

If we can't get Stones I would rather see us go cheaper on a CB and keep going with Smalling/Blind which has worked well this season.
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I'm also in the Smalling-Blind park. It's probably the best decision LvG has made. It's a great balance with the big, quick CB who sweeps up all the trouble and goes for headers and the calm and smart and well positioned CB who's as good on the ball as the best central midfielders which give us composure and a good place to start our build-up play from.
 
I don't watch many Everton games. How much of that 50m price-tag comes down to him being a bright young English talent? Is he the real deal with the clear potential to become a world-class defender or is there still a lot of work to be done to improve his game?
 
Keeps It tidy said:
I feel Chelsea got shot down since they left it so late. If they came with a substantial offer earlier they would have been probably been more willing to make a deal since they would have had ample time to use the funds. And Stones should be our number 1 target and I really do not care about the price for him as long as we get him. He really is that good.
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Yeah, I'd love to get him of course, just not sure if Everton would eventually give in, and if that price would be something that even United would go for. 50m+ for a young center back? Pushing it a bit. Though you might be right in that Chelsea left it too late.
 
Bazi said:
I don't watch many Everton games. How much of that 50m price-tag comes down to him being a bright young English talent? Is he the real deal with the clear potential to become a world-class defender or is there still a lot of work to be done to improve his game?
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He's obviously class, and is basically as promising of a center back as I've seen since Rio. But the price is still what it is because he's English, just like Sterlings was, or what Barkleys would be if he were to be sold.
 
£50m is completely bonkers; still want him. They don't come for cheap these days. Otamendi was quoted at £35m all season and Laporte's release clause was increased to 50m or 60m Euros this past summer. IIRC, Marquinhos went for 30m+ from Roma to PSG, and I don't think he was this established at the time. Add the English tax and that he is an established PL defender. The new world order demands that top teams have to pay these absolutely insane prices for top talent.
 
Price aside, this guy look class. Impressed me every time i've seen him play, and i think he would compliment smalling well.

With the new TV deal Everton don't need to sell, so the 50 m price might not be too farfetched. I think its ridiculous to pay that much for him, but its getting very hard to asses how much a transfer fee should be these days.
 
He's got ten years at the top in him so 50 million in the current market is a fair price. I'd be personally over the moon if we could get him.
 
It is the insanity of such fees that make it likely that our struggles will continue for quite sometime. £50m for a CB? and one who has only been playing at the highest domestic level for less than three years? If true then the whole management team at United needs to be sacked ASAP.

We may not have an abundance of word class defenders at the club, but the ones we have are more than adequate. Our priorities should be where it matters, the attack and midfield.
 
Bojan11 said:
£35m plus Jones to Everton. I'd be happy with that. Would compliment Smalling.
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Sad to say, but that would be a great deal for us. Come to think of it & Everton - if they miraculously manage to keep Jones fit.

Stones also seems a much better "Rio-like" compliment to Smalling.
 
Bazi said:
I don't watch many Everton games. How much of that 50m price-tag comes down to him being a bright young English talent? Is he the real deal with the clear potential to become a world-class defender or is there still a lot of work to be done to improve his game?
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A massive amount of work to be done but he has great potential so £50m may well turn out money well spent as ridiculous as it sounds just now. Although I wouldn't be getting rid of Jones as he will provide better long term cover than Rojo.
 
He is English. So most of the fans will go on with their usual rant of guaranteed 10-15 years of top level service to justify any inflated amount.
 
I've heard comparisons to Rio, so I imagine 40-50 million in today's absurd climate isn't out of the ordinary. But we have much bigger concerns than centre back. If we're spending big it needs to be on our attack.
 
RedDevil@84 said:
He is English. So most of the fans will go on with their usual rant of guaranteed 10-15 years of top level service to justify any inflated amount.
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Like Rio, Rooney, Carrick,... ? Or like Smalling and Shaw?
 
I don't know why anyone would fork Jones off in a purported deal. When fit, he's been just as good as Stones this season. He's no longer the mistake ridden nervous wreck from a couple years ago.
 
DWelbz19 said:
I don't know why anyone would fork Jones off in a purported deal. When fit, he's been just as good as Stones this season. He's no longer the mistake ridden nervous wreck from a couple years ago.
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He can never stay fit though.
 
man said:
A massive amount of work to be done but he has great potential so £50m may well turn out money well spent as ridiculous as it sounds just now. Although I wouldn't be getting rid of Jones as he will provide better long term cover than Rojo.
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Why get rid of any defender we currently have? Adding Stones would merely deepen our current defensive status quo. It should not mean us releasing someone. Having 9 options in darmian, smelling, stones, shaw ( a team) and Valencia, Jones, Rojo/Mcnair and Blind ( team b) would be ideal imo
 
DWelbz19 said:
He's still only 23. Having him as back up alongside Blind whilst Smalling and Stones (or equivalent) would be excellent.
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I agree. That's what we need at centre back - an addition rather than a replacement. Not sure who proposed getting rid of Jones.
 
amolbhatia50k said:
I actually believe we need an overhaul in attack and that could take some serious spending. FWIW we didn't actually spend all that much this past summer. A lot of it came form the Di Maria sale.
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Exactly. So the funds to even strengthen the squad further in all departments are available. We can hence over haul our attack whilst still beefing up defence and center midfield.
 
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