Chelsea Transfer News: John Stones Chat Is 'Illegal,' Claims Roberto Martinez

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has hit out at Chelsea and their captain John Terry for what he describes as an “illegal” pursuit of young defender John Stones.

The Catalan coach was speaking with talkSPORT on Friday morning and in the wake of Terry’s recent praise for the defender, in which the ex-England skipper effusively heralded the Blues target, Martinez didn’t mince his words when quizzed on Chelsea’s aggressive tactics, per Dominic King of the Daily Mail:

"

You know that is illegal. The rules do not allow you to comment in that open manner on players who are registered at other clubs. It is disappointing.

We have a fantastic relationship between the two clubs and in the past we made our biggest investment in Chelsea. We all know there are rules and regulations and it is something we don't want to see when other clubs speak about your players. It is wrong and it shouldn't happen.

"

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Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has previously encouraged the former Barnsley defender to join the Blues, per Steve Brenner of the Guardian. Blues boss Jose Mourinho has spoken about the player various times in public, per Sky Sports.

Throughout the transfer saga Martinez has been adamant that despite having two substantial bids from the Blues rejected, Stones is not for sale. It was a point he stressed again in the interview on Friday, insisting “we have said that many times.”

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It’s understandable that Everton do not want to cash in on the player. After all, Stones and skipper Phil Jagielka are the Toffees’ only two senior centre-back options a day out from the season getting underway. Peter McPartland of Toffee TV outlined a few other reasons why the club should be resolute in the face of Chelsea’s interest:

Chelsea have made their intentions clear when it comes to Stones and with the season so close, that’s something that has clearly riled Martinez. The defender is a key player after all and while he seems like a level-headed lad, it’d only be natural for him to be distracted by interest from the Premier League champions.

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As commentator Ian Darke suggests, it seems as though there have been some underhand tactics at work from the Blues when it comes to Stones too:

The intentions seem clear as day, though. With Everton reluctant to sell, Chelsea are clearly looking to the player to push for a move before the transfer window closes. After all, could a team with relatively humble finances like the Toffees really afford to turn down a sizeable bid for an unsettled player?

At the moment, they may well do. Martinez doesn’t have an array of centre-back options to call upon and to reshape a back four that struggled for long periods last season would be a major challenge with the new campaign so close. Expect Everton to stand firm and maybe nudge the Premier League into giving them a helping hand when it comes to Chelsea’s public courting of their player.