Everton manager Ronald Koeman has revealed Ross Barkley could still stay at the club and has told Tottenham and Chelsea to look elsewhere if they think they can get a late bargain this summer.
Barkley won’t sign a new deal with Everton and wants to leave his boyhood club in order to find a new challenge this summer, but the Toffees are struggling for suitors after slapping a £50m price tag on his head.
The England international is wanted by Chelsea and Tottenham this summer and both are willing to wait until the end of the month as they believe Koeman’s side will be forced to lower their stunning valuation.
However, Koeman has warned both of his Premier League rivals that they are barking up the wrong tree if they think Barkley will be sold on the cheap and even suggested the 23-year-old could stay put this season.
“If there is a club thinking we can wait until the last day and we put some money on the table and we get Ross Barkley, sorry, you do not get Ross Barkley,” The Daily Telegraph quote Koeman as saying.
Ross Barkley: Has been dispossessed more times than any other midfielder in the last 4 Premier League campaigns (281) pic.twitter.com/YI5RON66l3
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 28, 2017
Of players that scored at least five goals in the Premier League last season, only Paul Pogba (5.4%) had a worse conversion rate than Barkley (5.6%).
