City to test Everton with Barkley bid

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 29: Ross Barkley of Everton competes with Steven Davis of Southampton during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park on December 29, 2013 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Paul Thomas/Getty Images)

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 29: Ross Barkley of Everton competes with Steven Davis of Southampton during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Southampton at Goodison Park on December 29, 2013 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Paul Thomas/Getty Images)

Published Sep 23, 2014

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Manchester City will target Ross Barkley again next summer after their first bid for the England star failed.

The champions were quoted an astonishing £50million for Barkley by Everton when they inquired in June, almost double their valuation of the player.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini and football director Txiki Begiristain were not interested in pursuing a deal at that price. However, they still believe Barkley is a perfect fit for the club and will attempt to re-open talks with Everton at the end of the season.

City only spent a net £9m in the summer and Pellegrini knows he has money for transfers. He is also a striker short after Alvaro Negredo returned to Spain for personal reasons, and Pellegrini is keen to buy English players, given that

the club do not expect their new academy system to bear fruit for two or three seasons.

City are aware English players tend to be hugely overpriced, as Manchester United’s £31m deal for defender Luke Shaw and Liverpool’s purchase of Adam Lallana would seem to illustrate.

The club have also had their fingers burnt, with major domestic signings Adam Johnson, Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair all failing to live up to expectations.

However, City need to ensure their quota of English players falls within domestic and European guidelines, and their research into Barkley’s lifestyle and temperament have shown him to be exactly what they require.

Everton are sure to resist City’s advances but the Merseyside club’s recent history does show that they will often sell one high-profile player per summer.

City’s first-team squad contains two England internationals in goalkeeper Joe Hart and midfielder James Milner.

Both will be offered new deals by City with the club playing down suggestions over the weekend that Hart’s future at the Etihad Stadium is in doubt.

Vincent Kompany believes Frank Lampard’s late equaliser against Chelsea on Sunday could prove crucial in City’s bid to retain the Barclays Premier League title.

The Belgian star said: ‘Ever since I’ve been at this club, seasons and big moments have been decided on small events like this so I will never under-estimate what it could mean to our season.

‘He has such quality — the goal he scored is probably something you would have seen for the last 15 years in the Premier League.

‘He is so clever, still extremely motivated and he has the experience to keep cool in vital moments.

‘We are under pressure, we’re down to 10 men, how many players would’ve scored that goal? That’s ultimately what you need.’

Meanwhile, City’s first-team squad will move into the club’s new training ground opposite their stadium in just three weeks.

A source said: ‘It’s a jaw-dropping facility. Probably the best in Europe.’ – Daily Mail

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