Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly going to wait a while for Everton to lower their asking price of £50 million for Ross Barkley before making a move.
According to a report by Sky Sports, Tottenham are planning to wait around in a bid to get Everton to lower their asking price for Ross Barkley. The Spurs are in the market to find a strong midfielder to bolster the squad and allow a seamless transition from defensive to attacking plays.
Ross Barkley has been on their radar for a while but Everton value the 23-year-old at £50 million, despite him having only a year left on his contract and also making it clear that he will not sign a new one anytime soon.
The England international has made 39 appearances and scored six goals for Everton last season. He has gradually become one of their key midfielders ever since he joined the club. However, last season manager Ronald Koeman claimed that he can irregular and inconsistent in his playing form.
A product of Everton’s youth academy, Barkley made his debut back in 2011 and has made over 175 appearances since then, scoring 27 goals.
Although Barkley will be a good deal for a club like Tottenham, it remains to be seen how exactly he will slot into the team’s formation. Pochettino is currently switching between 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-2-1 formations to allow him to get all of his best players on the pitch.
If Barkley joins the squad for a big fee, he still won’t have a guaranteed starting spot under the Argentine due to the presence of Moussa Sissoko. Pochettino also has Harry Winks to deploy if he wants a deeper midfielder role. Mousa Dembele’s constant injury woes may mean that he is used less frequently in order to save him for the bigger matches.
Should Pochettino choose to start with Barkley, it’s highly unlikely that he would take over either Dele Alli or Christian Eriksen’s spots – both players who have been crucial when it comes to goal-scoring for the Spurs.
However, Barkley does bring something different and will also provide an alternative to Eriksen’s free-kick skills.
Switching back to a 4-2-3-1 formation might get Barkley in alongside those two behind Harry Kane but that could spell trouble for another player in the back line. Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are the Spurs’ first choice central defensive partnership which means there could be no spot in defence for Eric Dier in that case.
Having said that, Dier is being targeted by Manchester United, so if the deal goes through then Pochettino will have less to worry about.
