Pretty sure EFC have spoken with Stones about this since the 1st bid....and Martinez would have told him he wants him to stay
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What did you want the board to do, accept Chelsea's first bid?....we've been playing hard ball, hoping either Chelsea offer crazy money (like man city did with Sterling), our Stones was happy to stay for a few years (when we know he'll most likely be worth more than 30m....certainly more than Chelsea's first 3 bids which have all been less than what United paid for Shaw, and considerably less than what Chelsea sold Luiz for).....
I can fault the board for a lot of things....but not this.....Chelsea tactics here have been disgraceful!.....they used the media to tap up our player In a way I've never seen before (even having Chelsea players been given TV time to tell Stones to come to their club)....Chelsea also decided to make the first bid public, knowing full well this would start a media circus.
Man City started negotiating for Sterling 2 months ago....and paid Liverpool's asking price (over paid).....Chelsea have deliberately waited till late on hoping to back us into a corner, and accept a lesser fee than they know Stones is worth...
Thankfully our board has stood up to Chelsea so far....which is why Chelsea have clearly asked Stones to hand in a transfer request to force the move.....
For me the transfer request changes nothing....our selling price should remain the same, and if Chelsea don't meet that then stones is going nowhere.
Liverpool held strong on Suarez when Arsenal triggered his release clause (and Suarez begged to leave).....Suarez stayed, had his best season at Liverpool, and got a bigger move.....Stones will be professional and will play on if this move doesn't happen (he still has alot to play for)....