John Stones to Remain with Everton

A questionable post with no direct quotes or inside information today from the Daily Mail says it has reason to believe John Stones would prefer to play through the remainder of the season with Everton. This is in a lead to the Euro 2016 competition and his effort to solidify his shot at making the England team. It would be a sure thing to see him play 90 minutes of first side for every remaining Everton match, but it's hard to believe he wouldn't step in and do the same at Manchester United or Chelsea right now.

Based on reports about Roberto Martinez reluctance to target defenders this January and the return of Phil Jagielka making the back line stronger it seems it would take an amazing number from someone to get Stones this January. Some reports have Manchester United aiming for a £33M bid, but that just seems ridiculous based on numbers the team turned down this August from Chelsea.

It's obvious that Stones will be a target from the big money clubs as long as he is with Everton and is healthy. The big question is how long can we retain him and if the report is believed than that answer should at least be until August. On the other hand the logic is a bit iffy and the report sounds less than rock solid.