This isn't the first time an incendiary comment from Jose Mourinho has left the people of Goodison Park seething.

The question at this point, though, is why Chelsea's manager has chosen to be so brazen, aggressive and leave the impression he believes Everton can be bullied into selling him John Stones, one of their most prized assets.

Mourinho's reaction to Chelsea having a £20million bid for Stones categorically rejected lacked class and grace and immediately left the mind wandering back to December 2006, when he was threatened with legal action by Everton.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is confident he can sign John Stones but he is going about it the wrong way

Everton have firmly rejected Chelsea's bidding for Stones, saying the defender is strictly not for sale

Mourinho has had a rocky past with the Everton faithful, saying Andrew Johnson dived after a meeting in 2006

After a spiky game at Goodison, which finished with Chelsea winning 3-2, Mourinho questioned Andrew Johnson's professionalism, implying that the striker was a diver and had attempted to hoodwink the ref into awarding him a penalty.

Given TV replays showed Johnson had been pushed in the back by Khalid Boulahrouz, the eruption from Everton's dressing room was understandable with manager David Moyes and captain Phil Neville delivering stinging broadsides.

Johnson and Everton were so upset they spoke to solicitors to see if Mourinho had defamed his reputation. The issue went away within 24 hours when Mourinho issued a statement to apologise, praising Johnson and Everton alike.

Those comments, however, came when relations between the two clubs were tense, the low coming in January 2008 when Chelsea's pitch announcer, with startling arrogance, turned to the away section and said 'welcome to a semi-final' before the first leg of their League Cup clash.

Things have improved significantly since then with chairmen Bill Kenwright and Bruce Buck setting the tone. Their relationship is strong and deals last summer between the clubs for Romelu Lukaku (£28million) and Christian Atsu (loan) were conducted smoothly.

Which is why it is puzzling that Mourinho's tone was so aggressive in Montreal when news of the rejected bid emerged. He deeply admires Stones and regards the elegant England Under 21 international as the long-term successor to John Terry.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has claimed that Chelsea have tried to unsettle his defender

Stones is going to be the real deal and Mourinho's desire to recruit him is obvious, particularly with both Manchester clubs watching, but he is not yet ready to play every week for Chelsea in the high-pressured games in which they compete.

He is a work in progress and that was shown at the European Under 21 Championship this summer in the match against Italy; having missed two games with injury, he was too eager to make up for lost time and made bad decisions.

There have been games for Everton, too, over the past 12 months when he has switched off at key points; Stones knows better than anyone he has to develop and the only way he will do that is by playing regular games.

Furthermore, Stones has made it clear on several occasions this summer that he is not looking any further than developing as a player at Goodison next season; brought up in a tight-knit family who have instilled proper values, he is absolutely not the kind of character who will start kicking up a fuss.

Everton rejected an opening £20million bid from Chelsea for their 21-year-old England defender Stones

Stones has four years to run on a £30,000-a-week contract at Everton but is in demand

Would Mourinho give him an extended run in Chelsea's team if he made a slip in a crucial Champions League game? Would he be patient and put up with the growing pains when silverware is on the line? More than anything, however, does he really think saying Chelsea will keep bidding until September 1 will make Everton relent? If he believes that, he is completely misguided. Everton have written to Chelsea to forcefully stress that he is not for sale.

They are right to make that stance. Everton have ambitions of their own to which Stones is integral and just because Mourinho is stamping his feet does not mean they will panic and accept the first offer.

Besides, £20m, even £26m, is grossly under-rating his value. If Mourinho wants to see Stones play for Chelsea in the future, he is going about it all the wrong way - deliberately unsettling him is only going to enrage Everton.

And if they end up furious, just as they were in December 2006, why would they consider helping Chelsea if and when Stones is ready for the next challenge in his career? Everton have given their word and expect Chelsea to walk away.