by Lewis Ambrose

Everton clearly don’t want to sell John Stones, having already rejected a £20M bid from Chelsea for the young England defender.

Stones joined Everton from Barnsley two years ago and has now established himself in the first-team, as well as the England u21s. With John Terry growing older Chelsea have set about trying to make Stones one of their players by the window.

Now the Mirror report that Manchester United are interested in the defender and Arsenal are also keen. Stones is highly-rated and has that ability to bring the ball out from the back that Arsène Wenger values so highly, but there is no way the Gunners will go in for him this summer. Everton are looking for way over £20M which Arsenal simply can’t afford to spend on a defender who might start.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (L) of Arsenal sends a pass away from John Stones of Everton during the Barclays Asia Trophy match between Arsenal and Everton at the National Stadium on July 18, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Lionel Ng/Getty Images)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (L) of Arsenal sends a pass away from John Stones of Everton during the Barclays Asia Trophy match between Arsenal and Everton at the National Stadium on July 18, 2015 in Singapore. (Photo by Lionel Ng/Getty Images)

Competition

Arsène Wenger already has four good options at centre-half having signed Calum Chambers and Gabriel in the last two windows respectively. Chambers is very similar to Stones in each and every regard. A big strong defender who will only get bigger and stronger he shows great intelligence for his age and is already incredibly composed on the ball.

Calum Chambers of Arsenal during the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and VfL Wolfsburg at the Emirates Stadium on July 26, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Calum Chambers of Arsenal during the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and VfL Wolfsburg at the Emirates Stadium on July 26, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

If they don’t end up playing alongside one another Stones and Chambers are likely to compete for an England shirt in the coming years, but not an Arsenal one. Wenger won’t be spending such a huge amount on a defender who won’t start.

Chambers impressed at centre-half last season and will be looking for more opportunities this year as Per Mertesacker goes further into his thirties.