Saturday 1 August 2015 17:25, UK
John Stones could become the most expensive English defender of all-time this summer.
Chelsea have had bids of £20m and £25m rejected by Everton for the 21-year-old and could be forced to offer more than the record-breaking £30m Manchester United paid Leeds United for Rio Ferdinand’s services in 2002.
That would be a remarkable sum for Chelsea to outlay on a young player with just 86 games as a pro under his belt. However, ‘remarkable’ seems a fitting way to describe Stones’ rapid rise from Barnsley apprentice to, what his current boss Roberto Martinez calls, "one of the best ball-playing centre-halves in Europe".
Here, we take a look at how the Yorkshireman has surged from the sidelines to centre stage in a little over three years…
Early days at Barnsley
Barnsley boy Stones joined his local club’s academy aged eight and under the guidance of youth team coaches Ronnie Branson and Mark Burton learnt his trade. It was here Stones honed his style as a footballer – a defender comfortable with the ball at his feet, eager to move forward and make things happen as much as shut out the opposition.
"He wasn’t rushed, we let him develop," Burton told the Sunday People last year. "We have a good playing style and we try to get our defenders to step into midfield. Gone are the days when you can just head and kick it."
It’s an approach Stones enjoys and fully embraces: "From the age of 16 in the youth team at Barnsley we used to play out from the back and they always wanted to put that stamp on us, like Barcelona, I guess, with a lot of passing football. Every time there is a chance to play it out I think that's better for me and a better way to break teams down."
Stones is a player who can go all the way because he's grounded, he's got good football intelligence and he wants to improve.
Stones signed as a pro in December 2011 and made his debut for the first-team as a second-half substitute in a 4-0 defeat to Reading in March 2012. If that was not an ideal bow, then his first start for the club certainly was – a Capital One Cup extra-time win over Rochdale in August 2012, which saw Stones score his first and only goal for Barnsley.
Manager Keith Hill was eager not to overwork his starlet but Stones remained in and around the first XI. "He is a player who can go all the way because he's grounded, he's got good football intelligence and he wants to improve," said Hill.
In January 2013 – less than five months after Stones began playing regular first-team football – Everton came calling…
Everton pip Wigan to his signature
Stones went on to become a key component of the Everton squad under Roberto Martinez in 2014/15 – but the defender had the opportunity to link up with the Spaniard even earlier. It was Martinez-managed Wigan – not Everton – who seemed primed to land his signature in January 2013.
"I had been training in Barnsley in the morning and was driving up to Wigan after getting a call to say a bid had been accepted," recalled Stones in a Guardian interview. "Then I got another call to say Everton had also had a bid accepted.
"I called my family and made the decision with them, although I think my mind was made up when I knew Everton were interested. It was the club, such a successful club, the players, and you could see it going in the right direction. David Moyes assured me of those things."
Everton paid £3m to bring Stones to Goodison Park and while that was a significant fee for Championship Barnsley to receive for an 18-year-old, David Flitcroft, who had taken over from Keith Hill as manager, was disappointed to see the club’s prized asset leave.
How do you replace the best young defender in England?
"It is like losing a member of your own family," he said at the time. "I was asked if I could replace him, and the answer was ‘no’. How do you replace the best young defender in England? There is nobody out there as good as John, and that is why clubs were prepared to pay £3m for him."
With the move came a call-up to Peter Taylor’s England U20 World Cup squad and an England U21 debut – but no first-team football. Stones made the bench for three Premier League games but didn’t get the chance to make his top-flight bow.
"Looking back on it now, it was a difficult period," recalls Stones. "I needed to get settled as it was a big transition. For such a young lad to move to a big club, it was massive, but [Moyes] and his staff were brilliant. They helped me through those six months.
"I was on the bench against Manchester United in the February but I never got back involved again under him. I was a bit upset about that as I really wanted to play under David Moyes."
Roberto Martinez hands him his debut
Moyes’ move to Manchester United saw Martinez installed as new Everton boss in the summer of 2013 – and the Spaniard, who had coveted Stones’ talents while at Wigan, immediately stepped up his involvement with the first-team. Stones made his debut against Stevenage in the League Cup and then came on for his first Premier League appearance against Chelsea in September.
A first start followed against Stoke in January 2014 and the Barnsley boy began 17 of Everton’s next 21 games in all competitions.
On standby for England
Stones’ rise to first-team regular at Everton led to him being named as a shock standby option for England’s World Cup squad at the end of his first full season as a Premier League player. With Phil Jones struggling with a shoulder injury, England boss Roy Hodgson named Stones – who had shown his potential at right-back and centre-back for Everton – as back-up.
Stones travelled to England’s pre-World Cup training camp in Portugal and won his first England cap in a 3-0 win over Peru, before facing Ecuador a few days later. Jones recovered to reclaim his Brazil berth but Stones’ growing reputation in the game was plain to see.
"He’s just a player that’s never really flustered," Everton team-mate Leighton Baines said at the time. "He’s got fantastic composure. He’s a really good footballer, made for the international scene to play centre-half, because he’ll take the ball out from the back and rarely gives it away. He can start play really well and defends really well. He’s had an amazing season."
A new Everton deal
That amazing season led to Stones signing a new five-year contract with Everton in August 2014 – and earned him more praise from his team-mates.
"Stonesy is totally different compared to other English central defenders,” said South African Steven Pienaar. "He's more of a ball player who is really comfortable in possession. I can understand why England put their hopes on him. He's certainly got a bright future and he's got a good head on his shoulders."
After kicking-off the new season at right-back against Leicester, Stones was surprisingly left on the bench for home tests against Arsenal and Chelsea but Hodgson – eager to breathe fresh life into his England squad after a disappointing World Cup – handed Stones his first start for the national team against Norway, before selecting him for his competitive debut in a key fixture in Switzerland days later.
Reputation continues to rise
A return to the Everton first XI followed, with Stones putting in impressive performance whether deployed at full-back or in central defence alongside Phil Jagielka or Sylvain Distin.
"John Stones has been in terrific form ever since he played his first friendly in the USA," said Martinez. "Since then he has been growing as a footballer and he is a complete centre-half. John has gone to the next level this season. He has shown he is ready for any challenge."
Martinez went on to praise Stones’ leadership qualities and picked him out as a potential Everton captain of the future. However, an ankle injury in his next game against Manchester United ended Stones’ short-term involvement.
Stones missed the best part of three months of football with the problem but returned to Everton’s defence in early January, helping the team to a streak of just one defeat in their next nine.
"To see John, at such a young age, performing with that calmness and with that know-how at his age makes him one of the best ball playing centre-halves you will see in European football," Martinez told the Liverpool Echo in February. "He’s got to the point now where he is experienced and needs to be challenged on the pitch."
Stones’ eagerness to play with the ball at his feet got him into a spot of bother against Young Boys in the Europa League – the defender lost the ball while trying to dribble out from the back and was sent off for giving away a penalty in the process.
However, he finished the campaign with only John Terry and Martin Skrtel ahead of him in the passing accuracy charts for defenders in the Premier League - and was tipped to play a key role in England’s U21 European Championship tilt in the summer.
Southgate rues Stones' absence
Concussion suffered in a pre-tournament friendly kept Stones out of England’s first two group games, though, and defeat to Italy sent Gareth Southgate’s side crashing out of the Czech Republic showpiece.
The England U21 boss was quizzed on whether the absence of England senior squad members such as Raheem Sterling and Jack Wilshere was to blame but he cited the absence of Stones as a key factor. "[He] would have been key in our plans to attack the tournament," said Southgate.
Chelsea’s pursuit
In mid-July Chelsea made their interest in Stones known with an initial bid of £20m, followed less than two weeks later with an improved £25m offer. Both bids were rebuffed by Everton, with Martinez adamant Stones would stay at Goodison Park.
How Stones would fit in with the Premier League champions remains to be seen – former Everton centre-back Sylvain Distin says he still needs time to gain experience and understanding of England’s top flight.
But, if Stones’ recent past is anything to go by, his rapid rise seems set to continue in 2015/16 and he will surely continue to court the attention of the country's strongest sides.
