Tottenham are looking to shore up their midfield options before the transfer window shuts and the Londoners have identified Ross Barkley as an ideal target.
According to the Telegraph, Spurs are set to initiate talks with Everton regarding the England midfielder this week and Daniel Levy is ready to spend around £28m (£20m up front plus £8m in add-ons) for the player.
Barkley was valued at £50m at the start of this summer but the lack of suitors has forced Everton to lower the asking price. It will be interesting to see how they react to the potential offer from Spurs which is almost half of what they wanted for the player initially.
According to the report, Everton are hoping to get around £30m for the player but his latest injury could drive down the price. In that case, Tottenham’s offer should be good enough to land the player.
Barkley is apparently a target for Chelsea as well and the defending champions are expected to submit a bid for him as well.
Barkley has just 12 months left on his current deal and no club would want to pay over the odds for him. However, Chelsea entering the race could start a bidding war.
Spurs believe that Pochettino will be able to offer Barkley more playing time and the Argentine is the ideal man to develop the midfielder as well. But Chelsea are capable of offering more wages.
It will be interesting to see what Barkley wants now. He will be able a lot of money at Chelsea but at Spurs, he is likely to improve as a player and play more often.
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