John Stones
Chelsea still have some hours left to complete the signing of John StonesReuters

Chelsea have been heavily linked with Everton defender John Stones this summer, and the Premier League champions may have the opening they needed with just hours left for the transfer window to shut.

The Toffees have completed the signing of 24-year-old Argentine centre-back Ramiro Funes Mori from River Plate for a fee worth £9.5m. Funes has been awarded a five-year-contract at Goodison Park and the late move by Roberto Martinez's side seems to have brought out new rays of hope for Marina Granovskaia and Co.

It has been reported that Jose Mourinho's side are set to complete the signing of lanky Senegal defender Papy Djilobodji for a fee as low as £3m from French side Nantes. The deal has already been agreed with Djilobodji, and Chelsea are set to announce his signing following the successful completion of his medical.

Meanwhile, the pursuit for John Stones can be believed to be stepped up by Chelsea now following the arrival of Funes at Everton for a fee close to £10m. It has been reported that the Blues launched as many as four bids for Stones this summer, and all of them have been rejected by Everton.

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Not only that, even the player handed a transfer request to Martinez's side this summer, but the club later brought out a statement saying that the player's transfer request stands rejected.

The move to snap up the the lesser-known Djilobodji can be seen as a panic-buy for Chelsea, so much so that they need to strengthen things at the back at the earliest, considering their performances in the Premier League this season.

Mourinho's side have conceded nine goals from four games in the league this season, as they currently remain 13th in the table.

Djilobodji (26) can be seen as a real potential, and can turn out to be more than a backup defender for the Blues, as the Senegal international has 59 appearances for Nantes in the French top flight, and he has also been up against the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and even Edinson Cavani (PSG) in the French league.