SAYS WAYNE ROONEY

Levy on as £50m Barkley is left in limbo

despite signing TWO players who can fill the Barkley playmaker role – Wayne Rooney and Davy Klaassen.

Boss Ronald Koeman would also like see another No.10, Gylfi Sigurdsson, 27, arrive from Swansea.

An Everton source told the Daily Star Sunday: “Barkley was supposed to be going to Tottenham. There was a meeting but the fee has been a problem and Spurs ducked out. “It’s left the lad in limbo and it remains to be seen whether the deal can be resurrected. “That would mean a compromise but Levy has a reputation for being difficult and stubborn in transfer negotiations.” Barkley is also sidelined at the moment with what is claimed to be a groin problem – the injury which also kept him out of the England squad at the end of last season.

Levy, meanwhile, is also making life difficult for Manchester United over their interest in Spurs’ England midfielder Eric Dier, 23.

His valuation for the holding midfield man is in excess of £50m.

Levy got his way over Walker and was helped by City’s other right-back target, Dani Alves, preferring to join Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Juventus. The French club clinched the deal for Alves, 34, when they offered him a staggering £240,000-a-week. That was double what City were offering the Brazilian.

Pochettino, meanwhile, was delighted to see the completion of the Walker sale.

Having decided that Kieran Trippier would be his first-choice right-back this season, the Spurs boss wanted the transfer of Walker to be done before the club’s USA tour.