Report: Chelsea chasing Ezequiel Garay after failing to land John Stones

English champion Chelsea is reportedly looking at other options to reinforce the middle of its defense, after a deal for Everton centre-back John Stones looks to have fallen apart at long last.

The Blues are reportedly interested in the signature of Zenit St. Petersburg defender Ezequiel Garay as a potential replacement for Stones, and, eventually, for captain John Terry.

The Argentine central defender has played with Real Madrid and SL Benfica, and spent the 2014-15 season with Zenit in Russia, where he made 26 appearances, scoring one goal. Chelsea's interest comes after Everton released a statement Thursday on its website in an attempt to end negotiations for Stones once and for all.

Everton Football Club has rejected a transfer request from John Stones. Since the start of the transfer window, we have resolutely turned down offers from another Premier League football club for our player. John is not for sale and he will remain a highly valued member of our first team squad.

Chelsea has reportedly been in talks with Zenit over the past week regarding Garay, and the deal would be made easier by the fact that both the player and Chelsea's manager, Jose Mourinho, share the same agent - Jorge Mendes.

If that name sounds familiar, it's because Cristiano Ronaldo recently bought Mendes a Greek island as a wedding gift.