Chelsea thought they’d done enough on transfer deadline day to sign Ross Barkley from Everton but even though the midfielder had a medical with the club, he decided against the move at the last minute and returned to Merseyside.
The Blues remain interested in signing the England international but will face competition from Tottenham for his signature, with both clubs set to make January bids even though his contract expires at the end of the season.
David Unsworth, Everton U23s manager, has taken temporary charge of the first-team after Ronald Koeman’s sacking and he’s revealed he will look to sit down with Barkley in the next future to try and tie him down with a new contract.
I would absolutely love him to stay. He is a top talent, Everton has done great for him and he’s done great for Everton but he could be one of the all-time greats here.
I would love him to be persuaded by myself, the chairman and [Everton owner] Farhad [Moshiri] to stay and sign a contract.
We shouldn’t be losing players of his quality. He is a top player and a great player who has come through our ranks and I feel very strongly we shouldn’t be losing our own players.
I have not spoken to him about that [his contract] but I will be doing.
I’d love him to sit down and have a cup of tea with me and discuss the possibility of signing and staying here because we love him and I know he loves Everton as well.
I want everyone to come together and hopefully we can thrash something out with Ross.
Chelsea have struggled for central midfield options in recent weeks with Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante both struggling with injuries and the potential addition of a fit Barkley would give Antonio Conte another great option.
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