Chelsea told to sign £47.5m Man City star on a free transfer this summer | Football
Chelsea have been urged to consider signing Manchester City’s John Stones on a free transfer this summer to add some much-needed experience to their defence.
Stones has been a stalwart for City throughout Pep Guardiola’s tenure since joining from Everton for £47.5million in 2016.
But the Englishman has found minutes hard to come by this season, and is yet to start a Premier League match since the turn of the year as he continues to struggle with injuries.
With his contract up at the end of the season, Stones looks likely to depart City after ten seasons at the club.
Chelsea will almost certainly be in the market for at least one central defender this summer, with the club’s defensive deficiencies in recent weeks one of the many reasons behind their disastrous collapse in form – which ultimately ended up costing Liam Rosenior his job.
And former Chelsea centre-back William Gallas believes the Blues should be one of the clubs lining up to sign the City star to bolster their defensive options.
‘What does John Stones bring to Chelsea? Leadership experience and composure,’ Gallas told BOYLE Sports.
‘He is calm. He can bring you everything. He looks like he can be the right guy to be the leader of the defence line at centre-back.
‘I think Stones can be a good idea.’
Gallas, though, urged his former club not to consider a move for Tottenham captain Cristian Romero, suggesting the Argentine defender too often puts his team ‘in trouble’.
The 27-year-old has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained in the defeat to Sunderland on April 12, but still hopes to make Argentina’s squad for this summer’s World Cup.
A return to fitness could see Chelsea raid their London rivals for Romero, but Gallas has urged caution over any potential switch across the capital.
‘Christian Romero is a winner but he could not be the new Thiago Silva at Chelsea,’ Gallas added.
‘As a player and a captain, Christian Romero has a different style. What you need is one experienced player who can control every team and when you play alongside Romero I think a player might feel less secure, especially when you are young.
‘You need players who won’t take a red card for a stupid foul. For me, Romero has to improve in this part because he puts his teams in trouble.
‘Maybe Chelsea need to look for centre-backs who can bring you all these things to be calm and have that security to be a good captain at the back.’
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