Chelsea have identified a John Stones alternative

Chelsea have identified a Serie A alternative to purchasing Everton defender John Stones

Roman Abramovich and Chelsea may have finally given up on the idea of acquiring Everton defender John Stones. It seems as if the Premier League giants have turned their attention to Roma defender Kostas Manolas instead.

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The Express reports that Chelsea are bracing themselves for a tough negotiation with Roma to capture their star centre-back. It’s believed that Roma might require a fee of slightly over 34 million pounds to part with Manolas. That impressive sum would still be four million pounds less than Chelsea were willing to pay for Stones during the January window.

The Greek defender has been a rock of Roman’s back four all season long and has made 27 Serie A starts for the club. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that he’s started all eight of the club’s Champions League matches and posted a sparking Whoscored.com rating of 7.08 in those matches. He’s proven that he can play his best football when faced with the toughest opposition.

That ability to step up his play when faced with high-quality opposition makes him very attractive to the higher-ups at Stamford Bridge. They are looking to purchase a long-term partner for Kurt Zouma this summer and Manolas could fill that role nicely. He isn’t the talent that Stones is on the ball, but he may be a better pure defender at this point in his career.

Roma is right to hold out for a big fee when it comes to the talented defender. Losing him would be a big blow to their efforts and he would be expensive to replace in his own right. Knowing that they have a rich club like Chelsea interested should only drive their asking price through the roof.

For Chelsea, it’s a sign the club finally realizes it may not have what it takes to lure Stones away from Everton. They’ve gone after him full-bore over the last two windows and have been sternly rebuffed by the Toffees. They’ve been given no encouragement to think this summer will be any different, especially considering the recent big-money investment at Everton.

Even if Roberto Martinez’s side proved willing to sell, there’s no guarantee that Stones would prefer a move to Chelsea over some of their Premier League competitors. In particular, Manchester City would seem like a natural fit for a player of Stones’ talent with the impending arrival of Pep Guardiola. Chelsea could easily see themselves defeated if a transfer war ignited over the English star.

Chelsea may not end up with their first-choice defender in John Stones, but Roma’s Kostas Manolas is a great back-up plan. They’ll just hope his transfer saga doesn’t drag on as Stones’ has over the past year.

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