Ross Barkley continues to hog the limelight in the Merseyside even when Everton are busy bringing new players to the Goodison Park. Having already made his intentions about leaving the club known, it looks like it is only a matter of time before he bids adieu.
Ronald Koeman looks like he has covered his bases already. Davy Klaassen has joined from Ajax and prodigal son Wayne Rooney has re-joined from Manchester United. There are reports that Koeman wants Gylfi Sigurdsson at any price and that deal looks just around the corner (Guardian).
Where does that leave Barkley? The highly-rated English midfielder is still not evoking the same interest that some of his other international teammates are making. It is just Tottenham Hotspur of the top teams that recorded interest in signing Barkley.
Months of wrangling over transfer fees aside, Mauricio Pochettino is looking at adding Barkley to his squad. Next season ought to be the difference for him and the club – because no longer can they stay the eternal bridesmaid! There is a strong belief that Barkley could be the missing piece of our puzzle.
The Mirror though, reports that there are certain complications hindering this transfer. None more than the transfer fee – Everton value him at £50million, while Tottenham believe the price should be much closer to £15million.
The Toffees’ demand for a player who has just one year remaining on his contract looks highly unreasonable. Agreed that we value him to be a key ingredient of Pochettino’s plans but that shouldn’t drive his value north. Both clubs need to make some compromises for the reality to set in.
Another complication to the deal, according to the report, comes from Barkley himself, who wants £150,000-a-week to join Tottenham. These wages will make him the top earner at our club – more than even Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris.
This sounds like a crazy demand from the player’s camp; more so because Barkley is yet to show consistency to inspire some confidence about him. True, he is one of the most talented players around but at this moment, he needs someone like Pochettino to guide him to the next level and not the other way around.
Surely, all three parties involved – Everton, Barkley and Tottenham, need to make compromises to make this deal go through. A pragmatic solution will leave all of them happy, including me!
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