According to reports from Mirror Football, Barcelona have dropped out of the race to sign Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United transfer target John Stones.
The Everton defender has emerged as arguably the most exciting home-grown prospect in the Premier League since signing from Barnsley in January 2013, boasting rare pace, agility and technical quality for an English centre-half.
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He’s set to feature for England at the coming European Championship in France and enter the summer transfer window as one of world football’s most sought-after centre-backs, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Champions League title holders Barcelona linked to his services continuously throughout the season.
According to Mirror Football, however, Barcelona’s interest in the 21-year-old has steadily waned and they’ve now dropped out of the race for his signature completely. The Catalan club hold concerns over Stones’ suitability to La Liga and the transfer fee they’d have to pay in the summer with the Premier League trio also chasing. Some sources have valued him as highly as £50million.
That’s a huge boost to the transfer plans of Chelsea, City and United, but Everton remain reluctant to sell a player whose contract doesn’t expire until 2019.