UK Edition
Chelsea plan Ross Barkley talks with Everton in bid to usurp Tottenham
Chelsea plan to hold talks with Everton over Ross Barkley following their Premier League match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and have been boosted by the news that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has turned down Arsenal’s latest contract offer.
Barkley is one of three English players, along with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Drinkwater, who Chelsea want to sign before the transfer window closes on Thursday.
Tottenham Hotspur are favourites to sign Barkley, but Chelsea are not giving up without a fight and, as long as there are no significant developments beforehand, Sunday provides the perfect opportunity to step up their interest.
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri attended last season’s thrashing at Stamford Bridge and he and chairman Bill Kenwright both live in London.
If they attend Sunday’s game, Chelsea will have the perfect opportunity to try to open negotiations with Everton and make life difficult for Tottenham in their bid to land Barkley.
Spurs are willing to pay £20million, plus £8m in add-ons, for the midfielder despite the fact he is out for around three months with a torn hamstring.
But Chelsea are ready to battle for Barkley, believing he could eventually be one of the signings of the summer, and may yet outbid their London rivals.
Chelsea’s relationship with Everton has been strained ever since the Premier League champions failed with a series of bids for central defender John Stones.
The bad feeling created by the Stones saga did not help Chelsea this summer when they tried to re-sign Romelu Lukaku, only to lose out to Manchester United.
Chelsea will now hope that a face-to-face meeting could improve relations with Everton and help their bid to buy Barkley, who has entered the final 12 months of his contract.
Everton valued Barkley at £50m at the start of the summer, but no club is prepared to pay anywhere close to that figure.
They are hoping a bidding war breaks out between Tottenham and Chelsea before Thursday but are still unlikely to receive an offer over an initial £25m.
Tottenham hope that the attraction of working under manager Mauricio Pochettino, who has a good track record of bringing through English players, will be enough to convince Barkley to snub Chelsea.
Other than planning talks with Everton over Barkley, Chelsea are waiting to hear whether or not Arsenal will allow Oxlade-Chamberlain to join them for about £35m this month.
Having been informed that Oxlade-Chamberlain will not sign a new contract and wants to leave, Arsenal must decide whether to sell him before Thursday or let him leave on a free transfer next summer.
Liverpool retain a strong interest in Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Chelsea are optimistic the England international will pick Stamford Bridge over Anfield.