Everton drop Barkley valuation in face of London clubs’ interest

With the new Premier League season a matter of days away, Ross Barkley’s future remains in limbo. The Mirror are reporting that despite Everton reducing the original £50m pricetag on the player, Tottenham Hotspur still think the valuation is too high and will be happy to wait until the end of the transfer window for him to come in cheaper.

Also mentioned in the article are London clubs Chelsea and Arsenal, more recent newcomers to the Barkley chase. There is no indication yet if these two would be interested in paying £35m for the Wavertree-born player who has by all indications refused to sign a new, improved contract with the Toffees with one year left on his current deal.

Just a few days ago, the bookmakers heavily slashed the odds on a Barkley move to a new team to be mentioned, Newcastle. This came as a result of some particularly large bets that were placed on that transfer coming to fruition, likely based on purported insider information.

After reporting to training camp this summer, Barkley has missed all action following a hernia operation on a groin ailment, with no word on his return date. It is quite likely that he has played last game for Everton, with there appearing no way back in his relationship with Everton manager Ronald Koeman.

Koeman appears resigned to selling Barkley after he reportedly turned down £120,000 per week to stay at Goodison Park, with unconfirmed rumours saying the player was asking for even more from Tottenham who are unwilling to change their wage structure.