Terry out of line, blasts Martinez

EVERTON manager Roberto martinez has branded Chelsea captain John Terry’s comments expressing admiration for John Stones ‘illegal’.

Chelsea have aggressively pursued Stones’ signature this summer, having bids of £20million and £26m rebuffed, to evoke memories of how Barcelona chased Cesc Fabregas in 2011 when he was an Arsenal player.

There came a point during that saga when several highprofile players spoke glowingly of Fabregas. The same has been true this time, with Gary Cahill and now Terry praising Stones. Terry, in a talkSPORT interview, called him ‘exceptional’.

Though he would not be drawn when quizzed over whether 21-year- old England defender Stones has told him he wants to join Chelsea, there was no disguising martinez’s frustration when he spoke about Terry’s comments.

martinez, who has ruled out complaining to the Premier League over Chelsea’s conduct, said: ‘ You know that is illegal. The rules do not allow you to comment in that open manner on players who are registered at other clubs. It is disappointing.

‘We have a fantastic relationship between the two clubs and in the past we made our biggest investment in Chelsea.

‘We all know there are rules and regulations and it is something we don’t want to see when other clubs speak about your players. It is wrong and it shouldn’t happen.’

Chelsea boss Jose mourinho has suggested his club will not make any more signings this summer, but the feeling remains they will return with another offer for Stones. martinez says he has no intention wasting time trying to second-guess what Chelsea will do but reaffirmed Everton’s position.

‘John Stones is not for sale, we have said that many times,’ martinez stressed. When asked if Everton would look to review Stones’ contract, martinez said: ‘At the moment the focus is to bring in three players.’

martinez wants to add a central defender, a striker and a No 10. Everton have only signed Tom Cleverley and Gerard Deulofeu so far, but they have agreed a new deal with James mcCarthy, who had attracted interest from Tottenham, to keep him at the club until 2020.

martinez said: ‘The situation is James is not going anywhere. He’s a player we want to build our future around.’