Rio Ferdinand tells John Stones joining Chelsea would be mad and he must choose Man United

Posted Tuesday, August 04, 2015 by Dailystar.co.uk

RIO FERDINAND last night claimed John Stones would be MAD to join Chelsea.

The Old Trafford legend advised the young centre-back to move to the Blues' title rivals Manchester United instead.

Fearing Stones would struggle to dislodge either John Terry or Gary Cahill at Stamford Bridge, Ferdinand said: "If he goes to United, he plays every week so that's the right club for him.

"If he goes to Chelsea, he's not playing every week. He's at that stage of his development where he wants to play every week.

"If you say to any young footballer, 'Leave a club to sit on the bench', you've got to be a lunatic - you have to be."

Ferdinand reckons there is a great opening for Stones with Old Trafford boss Louis van Gaal needing to bolster his defence .

Rio Ferdinand tells John Stones joining Chelsea would be mad and he must choose Man United
HOT PROPERTY: Stones in action against United last season

The former England skipper said: "I'd buy Stones if I'm Man Utd. He's someone who's going to give you 10 years' service.

"He's a great prospect, the best young centre-half in the country at the moment. It's a no-brainer for me.

"Looking at him as a footballer, technically he plays with a certain amount of maturity, I think he would be ready to go and do that."

Jose Mourinho's champions have bid £25m for Stones, 21, who has been capped four times for England.

They are expected to go up to £30m for a player who has been compared to Ferdinand in his prime.

Ferdinand - speaking at the BT Premier launch yesterday - added: "I think he's the real deal. He's very good on the ball.

"I took a real interest in him and watched him at Loftus Road against Bobby Zamora, who gave most centre-halves problems last season physically.

"He handled Bobby well and that physical element, that was one of the areas that I hadn't really seen him under pressure with and he looked up for that battle.

"With all the other stuff he's got, he's got a real good chance."