Animosity has risen between the two clubs with Jose Mourinho hitting back at Roberto Martinez’s accusations that John Terry has “illegally” tapped up Stones, while Rio Ferdinand has backed the England global to join Manchester United.
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“We are not a club who try to sell a player“, Martinez said.
‘We are getting closer but won’t ever just bring one in for the sake of it to fill a position. “His reaction after that and his decision to be confident to play is another story”, Mourinho said.
The feeling at Chelsea is that the more Martinez speaks out about the situation, the more the relationship between the two clubs deteriorates.
Costa missed last week’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal with the injury that plagued much of his 2014-15 campaign and, speaking before Chelsea trained on Friday, Mourinho said he was waiting to survey the former Atletico Madrid player’s condition.
He added: “What you can control is your own finances at the football club and we are not a football club that has to sell to balance the books”.
Martinez admitted England worldwide Stones has been affected by the interest shown by reigning Premier League champions Chelsea.
“Gerard Deulofeu could be available for the weekend”.
“We have been able to stretch the squad [during pre-season], we know where we are and what we need”, the manager told reporters.
“I’ve loved every minute I’ve been here, with the fans having made me feel so welcome from day one, as well as the players and staff”.
This does seem a little harsh on John Terry, who was merely making the point that Chelsea are looking to their long-term future by targeting young players such as Stones.
“The problem with playing as a centre back is that defenders don’t tend to get rotated – rightly so – and that could mean long periods out of the team”, he added.
It’s also hard for young defenders to get established at top clubs.
Stones, who made 23 Premier League appearances last season, still has four years to run on his current Everton deal.
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“Tomas has got that raw natural talent to use in attacking play”, Martinez said.
