Manchester United will have to pay in excess of £45million in order to be able to secure the services of John Stones, according to reports from the Manchester Evening News

John Stones has emerged as one of the finest young defenders around in Europe over the past two seasons and as a result, a host of top clubs have expressed their interest in signing the Everton star in recent times.

Premier League champions Chelsea were publicly courting Stones during the summer but as a mark of how highly rated he is, Everton proceeded to even reject a whopping bid of around £38million for the defender.

While Stones has since insisted that he remains committed to Everton, it is widely expected that the elite clubs in England will be reigniting their interest in the England international upon the reopening of the January transfer window and now another giants in the form of Manchester United are also said to have joined in the race.

Despite increased level of interest in Stones, Everton manager Roberto Martinez recently stated that he is not worried about losing his star defender in January.

Martinez told, “I’m not worried at all. Our best players will not be leaving in January. We’re not in a position where we have to make financial decisions or balance the books.”

That said, United are a club known to be ready to pay ridiculous amounts to sign their transfer targets as evidenced by the recruitment of the likes of Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial in recent years and it is believed that the Red Devils could go all out to sign Stones as well.

Now according to reports from the Manchester Evening News, United are very keen on signing Stones and in order to tempt Everton into parting with the 22-year old, the Premier League giants are pondering a bid in excess of £45million during the January transfer window.