Tottenham will return for Ross Barkley after Everton man snubs Chelsea

Tottenham will look again at securing a deal for Ross Barkley in January after opting against making a move for the Everton midfielder this summer.

As reported by Standard Sport on Tuesday, there were concerns among some at Spurs about buying a player who will be unavailable for some time. Barkley’s damaged hamstring means he will be out of action for at least two months, with sources suggesting the lay-off might be even longer than that.

Barkley has been a primary target for Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino since last winter and it is thought the 23-year-old preferred a move to Spurs ahead of Chelsea or Arsenal. Chelsea matched Everton’s valuation of the England international but Barkley decided against the move, though that will not discourage Antonio Conte from returning with another offer in the next transfer window.

Everton were asking for about £30million for Barkley, who is out of contract at the end of the season. If Barkley stays at Goodison Park for the rest of the campaign, he would be a free agent in the summer, meaning his club would not receive anything close to their current valuation. Even if he leaves in January, it appears certain Everton would have to accept less.

The reluctance to do a summer deal for Barkley, and the collapse of a potential loan move for Andre Gomes because Barcelona could not find a replacement, means Tottenham still look a little short of midfield options and pace in wide attacking areas.

The club have a long-standing interest in Demarai Gray from his Birmingham days, though they did not move this week when it became clear Leicester would not sell the England Under-21.

Yet the signing of Fernando Llorente from Swansea for a deal that could rise to £14m gives Spurs proper back-up for Harry Kane.

Llorente was followed by the club during his time at Athletic Bilbao, though he was much younger than and it is a surprise to see Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who prefers to sign players under 25, pay a substantial fee for a 32-year-old.

The sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City in a deal that could be worth up to £50m went a long way to ensuring Spurs turned a profit of about £10m during this window, even though they spent significant sums on Davinson Sanchez, Serge Aurier, Juan Foyth and Llorente.

Kevin Wimmer was sold to Stoke for £18m but Spurs did not manage to find buyers for Moussa Sissoko, Vincent Janssen or Georges-Kevin Nkoudou.

Janssen decided against a loan move to Brighton and Sissoko did not move to Marseille, although he also attracted interest from Valencia and, with the Spanish window still open, there may still be a chance to do a late deal.