Barkley eyeing Tottenham move
LONDON: Ross Barkley’s move to Chelsea or Spurs could be back on in January as it becomes clear there will be no second chance for him at Everton.
The England international’s £35 million (RM194 million) transfer to Stamford Bridge broke down after Barkley rejected it late on Thursday night.
Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said that Barkley, who’d had surgery on a damaged hamstring a fortnight ago and will not be fit for another 12 weeks, had a medical at Chelsea’s Cobham base — but both Chelsea and sources close to the player insist that was never the case.
Barkley travelled to London with Everton’s permission, yet felt the situation had developed too quickly and he wanted more time to think.
Chelsea were informed and the conversations ended amicably before a medical could begin.
He made his decision based on long-standing interest from Tottenham, as Barkley is keen to work with Mauricio Pochettino.
The problem, however, was that Tottenham did not bid. At no point this summer did Spurs chairman Daniel Levy make contact with Everton or attempt to do a deal for the 23-year-old.
Chelsea were the only club who made a concerted effort to sign Barkley. They offered £25m on Tuesday, which was half of the valuation Everton had placed on him at the end of last season, before returning with their second bid on deadline day.
Spurs and Chelsea are likely to return with a fresh offer in January, aware that Barkley’s transfer fee will be much-reduced as he will only have six months left on his Everton deal.
If no move to a Premier League rival materialised then, Barkley would leave on a Bosman in the summer.
Should he see out his Everton contract, having already turned down new terms worth around £100,000 a week, his chances of going to the 2018 World Cup would be non-existent.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman will not select him again and would not play Barkley to help him regain match fitness ahead of the January window.
Barkley was one of several highprofile players to turn their back on a move to Chelsea this summer, along with Fernando Llorente, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Romelu Lukaku and Danilo. Daily Mail