Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on John Stones and Ezequiel Garay Rumours

Chelsea are set to finally give up their pursuit of Everton defender John Stones and will now reportedly move for Argentina international defender Ezequiel Garay in a bid to bolster their options at the back.

According to Miguel Delaney of the Independent, after months of speculation surrounding the Toffees star, the Blues now realise a deal is very unlikely. It’s also reported by John Richardson of the Sunday Express that Chelsea will pursue other targets, although the champions are unhappy after being previously told a bid of £34 million would be enough to seal a deal for Stones.

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The Everton supporters are certainly confident that their prized asset will stick around at Goodison Park, as we can see here courtesy of Bleacher Report UK:

The Toffees rejected a transfer request from Stones on Thursday and have been adamant throughout the summer that he would not be sold, per the club’s official Twitter feed.

Chelsea could certainly do with the 21-year-old’s stylish defensive skills at the heart of their back four at the moment. The young defender has developed into one of the division’s finest centre-backs, boasting composure on the ball to complement his tenacious tackling and intelligent reading of the game.

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The Blues have conceded a whopping nine goals in their opening four Premier League games so far and as we can see, manager Jose Mourinho is currently enduring one of the toughest spells of his managerial career so far:

However, the Portuguese insisted that despite losing to Crystal Palace on Saturday, the club will not be prompted into making panic buys late on in the window, per Jack Wilson of the Daily Star:

"I hope this does not prompt us to the transfer market. I don't like that. I gave my club the report of the season projection on April 21. I don't think it's now on August 29 or 30 that I am going to say 'I want this' or 'I want that’. We have to do better. Me and the players have to do better."

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Bringing in Garay may be enough to help lift the sour mood around Stamford Bridge, though. According to Delaney, Chelsea see the FC Zenit man as an ideal candidate to come in and shore up the defensive side of this team.

Here’s a closer look at the kind of quality he would bring to the Blues’ defensive setup:

Garay is a player that’s been one of the standout centre-backs in European football for a while. Although he didn’t show his best form during a brief stint at Real Madrid, for Benfica and now Zenit, the 28-year-old has been an assured presence at the base of the team. 

His ability was on show in earnest this summer, as Garay was part of a mean Argentina defence that went all the way to the Copa America final. It’s not the first time he’s thrived on the big stage either; as we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, the defender is a very capable distributor:

Garay would certainly bring much more experience to the team than Stones. In addition, he’d probably be a little less costly too. Here’s how the two men compare in league matches so far this season:

	Stones	Garay
Tackles per game	2.8	1.7
Interceptions per game	1.5	2.9
Clearances per game	4.5	5.3
Blocks per game	1	0.3
Passing accuracy	88.2%	89.9%

It’s tough to see Chelsea getting business done for either player at such a late stage in the transfer window. Everton have puffed their chest out when it comes to Stones and, given the festering animosity brewing between the two clubs, it’s looking extremely unlikely that any deal will go through at this late stage.

When it comes to Garay, Zenit would be under no pressure to sell. The Argentina star only signed for the club last summer and is subsequently tied to a long-term contract. Andre Villlas-Boas’ side have a critical season ahead, with big expectations to fulfil in both domestic and Champions League campaigns; Garay will be key to achieving any lofty ambitions.