Chelsea to make a move for Man city defender, a good deal?

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Bengaluru, Aug 11: If reports in England are to be believed, Chelsea have made a £20 million swoop to snap up defender John Stones from Manchester City.

Following the £41m arrival of former Blues defender Nathan Ake, Stones could well be shipped off by the Cityzens this summer and that too by incurring a significant loss on the amount spent on his transfer from Everton back in 2016 reported to be around £47.5 million.

The Englishman showed initial signs of living up to his immense potential but things have changed radically over the last couple of years as the former Everton star looks out of favour under Pep Guardiola.

Despite his dip in form in recent times, Stones is still regarded highly by a number of top clubs in England and Chelsea are said to be among them. The Blues had a failed attempt of signing the ball-playing defender from Everton previously but it was Manchester City who won the race for him. Now, it is said that the Blues are ready to try their luck once again and are looking land a bargain. However, does this move make sense? We will try to discuss that in this article.

Frank Lampard's first season as the manager of Chelsea was quite a challenge as the former Chelsea midfield great had to take charge of the club at a time when the club was serving a transfer ban and although the squad he inherited was pretty decent, it was not the best.

Lampard deserves every bit of credit for the job he has done at Stamford Bridge and for the fact that he managed to claim a top-four finish. The Blues manager caught the eye thanks to his exciting brand of football and his belief in youngsters from the academy of the club who have played an integral role in the first-team.

However, what will be really appalling is Chelsea's defensive record this season. In their recent history, Chelsea have mostly boasted a strong defence however that has been far from the case this time around.

Despite managing to finish fourth this season, the Blues have conceded the most number of goals in the Premier League this campaign among the top half clubs and even bottom half clubs like Burnley and Crystal Palace have conceded lesser than the Blues' tally of 54 goals. And, Lampard knows very well that he must improve his defence ahead of the next season in order to build on his first season's success.

The question is can John Stones improve this Chelsea defence? We would say no. Stones is a defender known for his excellent ability on the ball and his passing. He is an out and out ball-playing defender but can cost his team dearly due to his lack of defensive awareness. There is no manager in the world who likes ball-playing defenders more than Pep Guardiola and if he has given up his hopes on Stones, it should serve as a warning for Lampard.

One might argue that at a price of £20 million, Stones would be a good option even he is only signed as a squad player. That is absolutely true but Chelsea are in no need of squad players. What they need are defenders who will be upgrades on their current set, not sometime who is at the same level.

Chelsea have shown plenty of ambition already this summer with deals for Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner already wrapped up and are said to be looking for a few more big signings like Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell. A top-class centre back should also be regarded as a priority for the Blues this summer and probably the biggest one and John Stones is far from what they need.