Is John Stones really the ideal replacement for John Terry at Chelsea?
Throughout the course of the current summer transfer window, the name ‘John Stones’ has seemingly become synonymous with a reported big money move to one of the Premier League’s most elite outfits.
Rightly or wrongly, the up and coming young Everton centre-back has seen his stock rise at an incredibly rapid rate recently, with some in the modern game even going as far as labelling the 21-year-old defender as the future leader of the English back-line.
In light of John Stones paying witness to a much more defined and admired reputation among several of the very best teams the Premier League has to offer, Chelsea have reportedly targeted the Englishman in an attempt to restore some much needed resilience across their previously impressive back-four this season.
So then, with some rather ambitious members of the general footballing community in this country expecting Stones to become the next John Terry of the English game – just how good can this Everton youngster really show himself to be in the cold light of day?
Well, if John Stones were to make a high profile move to Stamford Bridge this summer, many fans of the Beautiful Game would likely expect the young defender to prove a massive hit at Chelsea rather immediately. Blues supporters would have every reason to expect such an outcome though, for when any club signs a player for close to the £30 million Everton are asking for Stones, the impact simply has to happen right away.
And whilst the determined Toffees centre-back has certainly done himself no harm with his performances at Goodison Park thus far, making the step up to Chelsea this summer would represent a whole new challenge all together. John Stones may look good at the moment, but he’s arguably not quite ready for such a test just yet.
Jose Mourinho ultimately requires a top class centre-back with a bit more experience at the highest level to adequately replace John Terry when the time comes. Without their beloved captain on board, Chelsea’s back-line ultimately looks nowhere near as resolute. The likes of Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic may look big and tough when the former England skipper is leading them effectively through their respective matches – yet without the advent of John Terry overseeing such a situation – such players simply don’t compare when forced to emerge from the shadow of their captain.
In the end, John Stones perhaps doesn’t have quite what it takes to thrive in such a high pressured situation…not yet anyway. His spell in the English Premier League has been decent to say the least – but is he really the future England captain everyone expects him to become just a few years down the line? We simply don’t know yet…
Young English players are subject to being over-hyped and over-rated far more than their counterparts in the rest of Europe. If Stones had originated from a country traditionally less alluring on the global footballing stage, Everton would simply never receive anywhere near the reported £30 million they are so boldly asking for him at this stage.
Such a damaging notion quite honestly has to go down as somewhat of a joke when we really take everything into account. It may make for good head-line reading to link John Stones as the next John Terry in this country – but through overly praising the young 21-year-old in such a frenzied manner – the player himself will likely suffer. Stones will arguably never be worth close to £30 million even at the peak stages of his career, which means all this recent hype and sensation following his name ultimately only serves to place the up and coming defender on a pedestal he’ll never actually reach.
The sensible course of action would see the widely admired Everton centre-back continue to grow and develop within the atmosphere of Goodison Park – where perhaps one day – he’ll go on to become a player truly deserving of the praise that currently surrounds him in the Premier League.
However, as life in the English top-flight never quite manages to follow the sensible line of action on most given occasions, expect the name ‘John Stones’ to be continuously be linked with a high profile move this summer – even if he simply isn’t the John Terry replacement many somehow expect him to successfully prove in the not so distant future.
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