Spurs and Chelsea play cat and mouse over Ross Barkley
Everton say the wantaway midfielder 'will stay' at Goodison Park if they don't get £50m
If Spurs and Chelsea are chasing Ross Barkley then they're keeping their cards close to their chests, reports the London Evening Standard.
The Everton midfielder is expected to leave Goodison Park this month after manager Ronald Koeman confirmed recently that the 23-year-old had told him of his wish for a new challenge. The two London clubs were immediately linked to the England international but has the £50m price tag placed on his head by the Toffees dampened their ardour?
The Standard says Tottenham and Chelsea "could choose to wait it out and hope that Everton accept a lower offer" but time is running out and Koeman has now suggested that he might be willing to reintegrate Barkley into the squad if no suitors are forthcoming.
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"There is no offer on the table for Ross - that means he will stay at Everton," Koeman explained to reporters. "The player has one year [remaining on his] contract and there is no offer… if somebody wants to buy Ross it's a big deal. If there is no interest then he will stay and be part of the team."
Meanwhile the Daily Express reports that Jose Mourinho still has his eyes on Danny Rose despite Tottenham's insistence that the left-back is not for sale.
The Manchester United manager, however, has hatched a cunning plan to get his man, one that involves "offering Luke Shaw as part of a deal to bring Rose to Old Trafford". It's no secret that Shaw and Mourinho haven't seen eye to eye in recent months and the prospect of swapping one English defender for another "could be of interest to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy".
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