The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Barkley stuns Chelsea by turning down offer
PREMIER LEAGUE: Day dominated by proposed moves that fell through
Ross Barkley turned his back on a £35 million switch to Chelsea in a dramatic late twist on transfer deadline day.
The Everton midfielder had travelled to London and undergone a medical when, with less than an hour of the window remaining, he apparently had a change of heart and opted to stay at Goodison Park.
Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri revealed the 23-year-old, currently out injured as well as being out of favour under Toffees boss Ronald Koeman, will now assess his options when the January window opens.
“The two clubs agreed a deal of £35m and I think personal terms were agreed,” Moshiri told Sky Sports News.
“After the medical we heard from Paul Martin, Ross Barkley’s agent, that he had changed his mind and wanted to reconsider his position in the January window.”
The 23-year-old’s snub was the latest blow in a string of disappointments for Chelsea who missed out on a number of summertargets.
They did, however, complete a deal for Italy defender Davide Zappacosta.
The 25-year-old arrives from Torino, with the Serie A club announcing the deal on their website moments after the 11pm deadline as the club were still working on a late swoop for Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater.
Players not moving turned out to be the biggest theme of the day with Alexis Sanchez and Virgil van Dijk among those staying at their clubs, whether they liked it or not.
Arsenal failed to complete the signing of Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, despite offering a reported £92m.
It is understood the Gunners made a late push to sign Lemar after they received an improved offer for Chile forward Sanchez.
But the breakdown of Arsenal’s move for the France international – who scored twice against Holland last night – meant Sanchez stays put at the Emirates Stadium going into the final year of his contract.
Dutch defender Van Dijk, a target for Liverpool who has been angling for a move, is also going nowhere after Southampton held firm on their stance that he was not for sale.
Manchester City suffered more frustration as they ended their interest in West Brom defender Jonny Evans.
Tottenham ended the day with a flourish by completing the signing of striker Fernando Llorente from Swansea.
The 32-year-old Spaniard, who was also a reported target for Chelsea, agreed a two-year contract.
Spurs had earlier landed £23 million Ivorian defender Serge Aurier from Paris St Germain on a five-year deal.
The future of Riyad Mahrez also remained unclear. Mahrez, a key figure in Leicester’s surprise title triumph in 2016, was allowed to leave the Algeria squad and return to Europe to finalise his transfer to his new club.
Roma had three bids rejected for the 26-year-old, the third for £32m, for the 2016 PFA Player of the Year.
The big move of the day was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s switch from Arsenal to Liverpool for £35m.
The 24-year-old England midfielder agreed a long-term contract, understood to be five years, at Anfield.
The Reds let Divock Origi leave for Wolfsburg on loan for the season.
Swansea landed Renato Sanches, the Portugal international midfielder, on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich and re-signed Wilfried Bony from Manchester City in a £12m deal.