Allardyce not in control of Barkley’s future with Everton

It appears that Sam Allardyce isn’t going to be a stakeholder in making the decision if Ross Barkley will be transferred out of Everton in the January transfer window, or not. Late in the summer transfer window it appeared that the Blues had sold him to defending Premier League champions Chelsea, but due to some sort of unclear snafu* he remained a Toffee.

*(Player maintains he wasn’t at a medical, tabloids insist he failed it)

Chelsea have continued to be rumoured as an interested party, as have perennial suitors Tottenham Hotspur. And interestingly, now Allardyce is saying that he might not have a say at all in the matter when the window rolls open in a fortnight or so.

Media sources report that the manager said yesterday that it would be the Board deciding whether to extend a new, improved contract to the Wavertree-born local more in line with his demands, or else sell to either of the two London sides in January. Barkley’s contract expires at the end of the current season and the club will be loath to let him got for nothing.

“It’s a difficult one. I haven’t had the opportunity yet to find out the true, or the whole, scenario and say, ‘Where does it lie?’ and then make a decision one way or the other.

“I’m not in control of that in too many ways.”

“If someone comes in during January and says ‘Here you go’ and the club say, ‘Look, if he’s not going to sign for us, this has to be the case’ then I accept that.”

The manager would have no hesitation in using the midfielder-forward hybrid after the window closes should he not choose to sign a new deal.

“If Ross stays, and stays until the end of the season, and I feel he is giving 100 per cent to the team, like he has done since he was a kid, then he is an available asset until he leaves on a free transfer.

“I would hate that to happen, but it might do.”

Barkley had recently posted a picture of himself on Instagram at the training facilities at Finch Farm, with the caption “Not Long Now”, just days after tweeting “Come on you blues” before the Merseyside Derby over the weekend.

Allardyce added that he’s been keepin tabs on Barkley’s injury situation -

“He’s not too far away, by the looks of it.

“He looks fit and healthy. The hamstring was a particularly bad one.”

Everton could desperately use some more pace upfront, and Barkley would certainly be welcomed back as one of Goodison’s own should he decide to extend his stay with the Blues.