Chelsea reluctant to pay asking price for Everton star, report claims

A round-up of the latest transfer speculation involving Chelsea…

Chelsea will table an improved offer for John Stones but do not want to pay Everton more than £26m for the defender, according to The Sun.

The newspaper reports that Chelsea offered £16m plus add-ons, which was rejected, and will now make a bid worth up to £25m.

The Guardian, on the other hand, reports Chelsea plan to offer £26m for Stones, as does the Daily Mail, which adds that he will be offered the number six shirt and that Chelsea secretary David Barnard will meet with Everton officials to try to agree a deal.

The Telegraph says Chelsea are willing to spend more than £30m in order to land the 21-year-old centre-back, while The Independent reports that the Blues are prepared to pay £35m.

Everton are widely reported to be holding out for more than the current British record transfer fee for a defender, which is the £31.9 paid by Manchester City to Porto for Eliaquim Mangala last summer.

Meanwhile, The Sun claims that Manchester United are looking to beat Chelsea to the signing of Barcelona wide-man Pedro.

And there continues to be speculation over the future of Mohamed Salah, with the Italian media reporting that Chelsea want Roma’s Alessio Romagnoli in an exchange deal involving the Egyptian.

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