Have Tottenham ‘Cooled’ on Ross Barkley?

Recently, our friends at Cartilage Free Captain reported that Tottenham Hotspur was still interested in Ross Barkley and that they expected to get a deal done in this window —with an article from the Independent as their source. Within hours, a report from the Daily Mail said that interest from Spurs had “cooled”. This is the epitome of transfer season, especially in the English Premier League where the coffers are overflowing for the major teams.

So what are Evertonians supposed to think about all these rumors? Well, there are at least a few points of interest from both articles that seem to ring true:

1. There is no way Spurs are paying Ross 120k a week. They do not pay Harry Kane that kind of money, they aren’t going to give it to a player for whom there is no clear starting place.
2. Spurs are not going to pay £50m for Barkley. They just aren’t that club. They’ve never paid more than £30m for anyone in club history, and they aren’t going to increase that by £20m for a guy with one year left on his contract.
3. Spurs still probably plan to sign him. The logical strategy for Tottenham is wait until the window is winding down, and then have the player agree to terms when he is desperate to get away, followed by betting that Everton would rather sell him cheaply now than lose him for free next season.

The entire situation is caused by Ross Barkley not appreciating what he has at Everton. He is a hometown product appreciated by the fanbase in a way that he simply would not be anywhere else.

To his surprise, I’m sure, but not to anyone else’s, there is not a huge market for him right now. The best course of action would be for him to extend his deal and stay here where he belongs. Unfortunately, it does not look like that’s going to happen, to the detriment of the team that taught him everything he knows.