Everton given more than one reason to avoid free John Stones transfer despite England win vs Croatia

Everton should reject the chance to sign John Stones as a free agent in the ongoing transfer window.

The 32-year-old surprisingly started ahead of Marc Guehi for England in their World Cup opener against Croatia on 17 June, indicating Thomas Tuchel's faith in him.

The former Manchester City defender is being linked with a return to the Toffees after his contract at the Etihad Stadium expired and he's still highly regarded in the Three Lions' setup.

Apart from Stones' fitness being questionable after multiple injuries in recent seasons, what can't be argued is that he doesn't possess the quality he did a few years ago and it would be better for the Hill Dickinson Stadium to avoid pursuing his signature.

Croatia's first goal came after Petar Sucic sat the veteran centre-back down and laid the ball off for Martin Baturina's ferocious strike.

Tuchel's team conceded twice in the first half and went into the break level, but they upped the tempo in the second 45 minutes and beat Zlatko Dalic's team 4-2 at Dallas Stadium.

John Stones struggles in England vs Croatia

Tuchel's gamble with Stones certainly didn't work as Croatia created several threatening opportunities throughout the game.

As per Sofascore, the defender lost the only tackle he attempted, two of his four ground duels, one of his three aerial duels and was dribbled past once.

Stones was unsurprisingly comfortable with the ball, completing 95 per cent of his passes, but did lose possession three times.

The partnership of the ex-Man City star and Ezri Konsa was fallible and the Three Lions will have some big decisions to make regarding their backline for the rest of the World Cup campaign.

Everton know where they stand in John Stones transfer race

Football Insider transfer correspondent Pete O'Rourke shared in April that Everton had fallen behind in the race to sign Stones, with several top European teams interested in him

It will be interesting to see where the centre-back's stock will end up if he continues to show defensive frailties with England in North America.

The Friedkin Group should invest in young, talented prospects for David Moyes, with the Toffees already possessing experience with the likes of James Tarkowski and Michael Keane in the backline.