Gary Cahill hopes he and John Stones have much in common in the future - apart from being Yorkshire lads.
Cahill has been deployed as bait as Chelsea seek to find a long term replacement for John Terry in Everton's star man.
An improved offer for a player valued at a record £32m for a British defender is imminent, and fellow Yorkshireman Cahill has been placed front of house by Blues to persuade Stones to make the move.
Cahill, from Dronfield near Sheffield – about 20 miles away from Stones' hometown of Barnsley – says that a move to a big club can be a daunting, but one that could do much for Stones' career.
“Are Chelsea a hard club to turn down? Yes, of course,” Cahill said.
“In terms of ambition, if you’re a young player in the game, have played in the Premier League like he did a lot last year, and a big club come calling, it’s very difficult to turn down because you want to achieve the most you can in the short period you have in your career as a professional footballer.
“When a top club comes calling, who you know will be firing on all fronts with competitions and medals, that’s ultimately what you want to be playing for. It’s hard to turn down, of course.
“He will look at the club, look at the players, and look at being involved in a squad like ours.
“When Chelsea came calling for me, it was an opportunity, it was a chance and looking from the outset you may not be sure how it's going to go.
“But it’s one you can’t turn down; you have to grab it with both hands. Then you have to work as hard as you can to make it work.”
Nobody knows what a move like that can do for a player's career better than Cahill, who went from battling relegation with Bolton, to winning every medal available in the space of three years with Chelsea.
Terry has signed a contract extension to keep him at Stamford Bridge until the end of the 2015-16 season in keeping with Blues' policy of offering just one year at a time to players over 31.
Even after one of the greatest seasons in his long career, there is an understanding from both player and club that at 34 succession planning for him is needed.
Cahill said of Stones: “I think England will benefit because he will get more experience playing in the Premier League and also the Champions League. I’m sure he will become a bigger and better player for that.”
