According to reports, Andy Gray has now spoken with talkSPORT and said that he will be ‘amazed’ if England international John Stones remains at Goodison Park this summer. Everton have been stating this over and over again that the highly-rated defender is not for sale, after rejecting Premier League champions Chelsea’s three bids, the last one being around the £30m mark.
However, Gray now expects that the west London side will make more bids till they eventually get their man, with manager Jose Mourinho keen on adding another defender to his squad.
In an interview, on the Hawskbee and Jacobs show, the former Goodison star stated, “Chelsea see John Stones as the ideal replacement for John Terry, without a shadow of doubt, so it is a case of how much he is worth to Chelsea.”
“I think Everton know that now. That is maybe why Chelsea will have to up the ante a bit but I do think sometime this month Chelsea will take John Stones and make him their player.”
“I would be amazed if, at the end of August, John Stones is still at Everton.”
Further, talking about a price at which the deal could be done, he continued, “It is still a work in progress for Roberto Martinez and if the bid is £35million to £40million I don’t think Everton can turn that down.”
“I would be very surprised if Roberto hasn’t got something set up should the happen so he is ready to move when it does – and I think he will be ready.”
“Everton are not at the stage now where they can look at everything and say we don’t have to sell any of our players. We do, it is as simple as that, and I think it will happen.”
“It’s sad but if £30million to £40million comes in and Roberto spends it well, there is absolutely no reason why Everton can’t benefit from it.”