Report: Everton rejects another bid for John Stones, Chelsea mulling final £40M offer

Chelsea could increase its offer for John Stones yet again after Everton rejected the team's third bid for the talented young defender.

The defending Premier League champions had a £30-million bid turned down, according to Matt Law of The Telegraph, and may have to submit a fourth bid as high as £40 million to convince the Merseyside club to sell the highly-rated central defender.

Law suggests Chelsea may need to see willingness from Everton to sell, or Stones to leave, before it considers submitting a fourth bid.

Including the latest offer, Chelsea has now seen bids of £20 million and £25 million fail to persuade manager Roberto Martinez and the Everton board to sell the 21-year-old.

Martinez has been adamant about his stance on the matter, saying Stones is not for sale, and adding that Everton is not a team that sells its best players.

However, that line of thinking may change if Chelsea boosts its offer to £40 million, as manager Jose Mourinho appears set on making Stones his defender of the future to replace aging centre-back John Terry.

Despite playing every minute of last year's league-winning campaign, Terry, 34, was removed from Chelsea's 3-0 loss to Manchester City at halftime, leading to suggestions that Mourinho is losing faith in his captain.