LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur are preparing another push to sign Everton midfielder Ross Barkley.
The two clubs have been unable to agree a fee so far this summer but Everton are happy to sell a player who has just one year left on his contract and is not signing a new one.
Mauricio Pochettino is a long-term admirer of Barkley and believes he can make the most of the England international’s obvious talent. So far Everton and Daniel Levy have been very far apart on their valuations of Barkley, with Levy believing that Everton’s £50million valuation is unrealistic for a player in the last year of his contract.
But there is a willingness on all sides to reach an agreement before the end of the transfer window. Everton would rather cash in on Barkley now than risk losing him for training compensation next summer.
They have already signed one attacking midfielder in Davy Klaassen and are trying to add another in Gylfi Sigurdsson, which would mean Barkley could even struggle to get into Ronald Koeman’s team this season. They are likely to compromise with Spurs in the coming weeks.
Spurs are pursuing Barkley as well as a new right-back to replace Kyle Walker, who was sold to Manchester City for an initial £50m last week.
Pochettino likes Porto’s Ricardo Pereira, who has a €25m release clause, but that deal is proving harder to conclude than first anticipated.