Barcelona are ready to fend off competition from Chelsea and Manchester United to land Everton’s highly-rated defender John Stones, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Stones, 21, was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea over the summer, who failed to sign the England international with several bids.
The Blues are expected to rekindle their interest in the central defender following their poor start to the season but could miss out with Barcelona keen on his signing.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique named Stones in his current World XI last week and his glowing endorsement of the Everton defender could have been an intentional ploy to attract Stones to the allure of the La Liga champions.
The former Barnsley defender has been likened to Rio Ferdinand for his ability to bring the ball out from the back and he is unsurprisingly Everton’s most accurate passer from those to have started at least one league game this season (89.1%), a trait that would is ideal for Barcelona.
For more stats on John Stones, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
