Chelsea have no hope of January deal for John Stones, says Roberto Martinez

Chelsea made three bids in the summer and Stones handed in a transfer request

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Everton manager Roberto Martinez says there is no chance John Stones leaves the club for Chelsea in January.

Stones was Chelsea's top target in the summer but the Toffees rebuffed three offers, the biggest of which reached just shy of £40million for the 21-year-old centre-back who had put in a transfer request.

That proved a shrewd move for Everton, with Stones being one of the form defenders in the Premier League this season.

Struggling Chelsea are 16th in the Premier League and now just a point above the relegation zone and are expected to make another bid for the defender in the January window.

Jose Mourinho is said to be under pressure from owner Roman Abramovich, who is to hold an emergency board meeting on Wednesday, according to reports.

But Martinez has moved to deny any chance of Stones being sold in January.

"It doesn’t matter if Chelsea come back in for him. We created a squad to see how far we could go over 10 months. January doesn’t come into consideration," said Martinez.

"We’ll never lose anyone in January — unless it’s somebody who hasn’t been playing and we need to find a solution. If he’s a top performer, it’s not even a consideration."

Martinez did concede that it will be a different story next summer.

"When you are right in the middle of a season, I think players understand that you can’t sell someone if you can’t replace him," he added.

"I think the uncertainty comes in the summer, where everyone speaks about possibilities.

"January is a window to solve problems with players who are not featuring as often as they feel they should, or to bring in players from a lower league to give them an opportunity."