How much are Stones and Berahino worth?

Amidst reports that Saido Berahino and John Stones have both handed in transfer requests that have both been rejected by their clubs I have to say I am close to calling this a 'Zoolander Moment' post.

John Stones

Let's start with John Stones, apparently Chelsea have had 4 bids rejected with the most recent supposedly close to £40million. £40 MILLION!! This for a player that has shown some promise. Not a lot of promise. I have to say, that I am not against John Stones or think he is a bad player but he is not worth £40million, defenders aren't worth that generally so this is crazy from both clubs.

In the under-21 world cup there was one player who stood out for me in the England squad. That was Carl Jenkinson, he didn't have the best tournament but it was clear, to me anyway, that he was, in general, a little better than the players around him. John Stones didn't stand out in the same way. So this whole saga is crazy. That's just my opinion. 

In this day and age we all know that prices have risen drastically but what can Stones actually gain from Chelsea. Why would he want to go? Well, I don't think he will go straight into the first team, despite his price tag (look at Cuardrado). I think he will be fourth choice but I think he will be back up for Nemaja Matic in the defensive midfield position too which will offer him more minutes across the season. He will play along side John Terry and under Jose Mourinho plus he will get paid a substantial amount of money and in the future will be expected to succeed John Terry as Chelsea's first choice Centre back. It may take some time but it should ultimately be a good move for him.

This is why he has handed in a transfer request. For Everton it is a total no-brainer. Sell him for £40 million. It's so ridiculous I don't even want to talk about it.

Saido Berahino

Again a few bids have been rejected by West Bromwhich Albion from Tottenham Hotspur for Berahino believed to be in the region of £20million. Similarly, he has shown a bit of promise but not a lot. He isn't where Messi, Rooney, Ronaldo are so while we're not talking up in the £50m bracket it seems a lot of money or at the very least extremely reasonable.

For Saido Berahino I don't think there is too much appeal to go to Spurs apart from the allure of better money, slightly better players and the offer of a European stage to showcase his talents. That may sound like quite a lot of benefits but it's not as if he is linked with a Champions League club challenging for titles. However, it is still a step up and maybe a step in the right direction for Berahino, so it is understandable that he wants to leave.

If he did go to Spurs, he would likely form an exciting partnership with Harry Kane which will hopefully be good for England. He could potentially play second fiddle to Kane but the likelihood is he will play along side him and perhaps that is what is really motivating him for a move.

West Brom have purchased a replacement in Rondon and even Ricky Lambert so it is surprising they are so angry about these bids. There is no telling if he would go to West Brom but it seems easy enough to accept a bid of say £22million of Berahino and pay £15million for Charlie Austin in which they make themselves £7million and get themselves a striker who scored more goals than Berahino last season.

What planet are they on?

The reality is that Everton and West Brom do not have divine right to keep these players if they are unhappy. Yes they are contracted but what use is an unhappy player? And what use is a huge amount of money? A lot. I can't believe these clubs think they are being bullied when it comes down to it, Chelsea and Spurs are the better clubs and have earned the right to attract players from lower clubs. Everton and West Brom have the right to put a price tag on those players that benefit them.

For Chelsea, I would have stopped at £25 for Stones and if they said no I would revisit it in January or go searching else where. For Tottenham I would have gone the Charlie Austin route as well. Austin £15 million. 1 good season from Austin and he will be bought by a bigger club for a huge profit, just like Berahino might.

Edit: They have in fact purchased Heung-Min Son from Bayer Leverkusen who looks like he could be a worthy alternative for Berahino and West Brom will have to do with out £20million.

Right now Everton and West Brom are acting like moody, stubborn teenagers and no one is really benefitting. I think they will realise how huge their mistakes are in time.