Manchester United have a cunning plan to steal John Stones from under Chelsea’s nose

If Ed Woodward pulls this off, they could be singing his names around Old Trafford all next season.

Jonny Evans is a decent player but let's be honest, you would not want him manning your defence against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Louis van Gaal spoke extremely kindly about the Northern Irish international when he first arrived in Manchester - he even threw his name in the captaincy hat. Now, one year on, Evans finds himself out in the cold. Van Gaal told journalists, on Wednesday, that his starting back four for the league opener against Spurs would be Luke Shaw, Matteo Darmian, Daley Blind and one from Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. No mention of Evans there. Sergio Ramos had emerged as a shock, number one transfer target over the past month but the Real Madrid defender looks to have used the Premier League side to engineer a hefty pay bump. He will remain in Spain. Van Gaal expressed his faith in his defenders, during the pre-season tour to America, but the club have been alerted to the possibility of John Stones leaving Everton. The 21-year-old has played 44 games for The Toffees since his 2013 debut and, last season, made four appearances for England. Chelsea have tested Everton's will to hold onto Stones in recent weeks, and both Jose Mourinho and Gary Cahill have openly spoke about how well suited he would be to the Stamford Bridge set-up. Chelsea's latest bid for Stones is £26m - they previously bid £20m - but United believe they have a trump card. They will offer Everton £20m and Evans [valued at £8m]. United have looked impressive in attack during their pre-season matches but a 2-0 defeat to PSG, on Wednesday, exposed some old defensive frailties. If van Gaal can get Stones in the door and somehow convince David de Gea to see out the remaining year of his contract, he could rightfully declare this transfer window a success.