Reports: Chelsea will pursue John Stones again this summer
Chelsea are still targeting Everton defender John Stones in the summer. Jose Mourinho failed in his attempt to sign him before the start of the season but the Blues are still going to attempt to sign the player this summer.
The defender has come under some scrutiny this season for not performing up to expectations on several occasions but he is still considered as a bright talent.
Stones started the season with Everton very well. One of his standout performances was against the club trying to sign him during their 3-1 win. But since then Roberto Martinez has been unable to fix their defensive problems despite how good they have been going forward.
Stones is also a target for Manchester City and Barcelona with both clubs looking to improve their defence before the beginning of next season. Chelsea are planning to overhaul their current squad and let some of their senior players leave in favour of younger talent.
The club have been in talks with Antonio Conte over players they should target in the summer and Stones is reportedly part of his plans.
Chelsea working on developing youth talent
Chelsea are also hoping they can better promote youth under Conte and Emanola who is a part of the recruitment department believes their under-18s are the best batch yet to come out of the club
Speaking to The Guardian he said, “There is a co-ordinated effort from everybody to want to make this happen. The owner wants it, the first-team coach wants it, the academy manager wants it, I want it, the board want it”
“Everybody wants this to happen, and not just because it is nice to have this backbone that fans can relate to and support. But with the investment we are making, where we think the game is going and the competition we have, you can’t just buy your way out of trouble all the time. “
“We compare the guys in our academy sides to those we see across Europe and other clubs in England and we think we have very, very good young players who should be able to come through.”
“Andreas Christensen [on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach until 2017] will be a superb player. On the English front, as I know from talking to the England Under-19s coach Aidy Bothroyd, Clarke-Salter and Tomori [who is a Canada Under-20s defender but still eligible for England] are going to be outstanding players.”
“If they continue the way they are going now, they will make it because they have great talent.”