What really happened with Ross Barkley and Chelsea?

All summer long, the only real contenders for Ross Barkley’s signature at the end of this transfer window were Tottenham Hotspur. However, in the last few days Chelsea emerged as a genuine contender and then today on Deadline Day things seemed to take on a life of their own.

While we may never know what really transpired today between Barkley and the Stamford Bridge side, it does appear that the player decided at an advanced point of the negotiations that he wanted to no part of this anymore and backed out of the deal.

Some say he was undergoing a medical when he had his change of his heart, while others say he was nowhere near the Cobham training facility and no medical took place. There is even a narrative that Barkley actually failed his medical which is why the deal was put off.

Most of the football reporters that we care to listen to say that he was already into the physical examinations when he decided to back out.

For the record, here are the comments made by Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri to Sky Sports when he called in -

“The two clubs agreed a deal of £35m, I think personal terms were agreed and after the medical we heard from Paul Martin, his agent, that he changed his mind.

"He wants to reconsider his position during the January window. He is currently injured so I think technically he will be with us because he is under contract for another year.”

Interestingly though, per Phil Kirkbride of the Liverpool Echo, Barkley did not undergo a medical at all with Chelsea.

However a source close to the 23-year-old denied Barkley had been at Cobham or had a medical.

Dominic King also revised his opinion on this.

As for the third viewpoint, that only comes from Matt Law of the Telegraph, who has been widely slated for being a mouthpiece of Chelsea and sounds like he is trying to paint the Londoners in more favourable light.

We can expect the spotlight to go off Barkley for now while he remains out recuperating from the surgery on his hamstring injury. Whether he will play for the Blues again this season or not, that remains to be seen.