Tottenham Hotspur need Everton midfielder – but do they hold the cards?
Tottenham Hotspur cancelled their pursuit of Ross Barkley in the summer after the midfielder picked up a hamstring injury.
The Telegraph report Tottenham are still keen to bring him in – but do they still hold the cards?
While Barkley is out of contract, Tottenham are suddenly more desperate from a footballing viewpoint for Barkley.
In the summer he was viewed as a luxury, and pundits lined up to question why Barkley would move to Spurs when Dele Alli was in the side.
This season though has not gone swimmingly for Tottenham, with their creative options looking bare.
Spurs are too dependent on Christian Eriksen, while Dele Alli is maddeningly inconsistent.
Tottenham need to give both of them a break, but they simply do not have the options on the bench to do so effectively.
This makes Tottenham’s need for Barkley a lot greater, and gives Everton more sway in negotiations by knowing how desperate Spurs are for him.
Everton need Barkley too, and will be attempting to get him to buy into their new project under Sam Allardyce.
Tottenham’s poor form and reliance on an underperforming Alli and Eriksen has exposed their requirement for Barkley in a way chairman Daniel Levy would not like, and it will be fascinating to see whether the North London side are able to get the deal done in January.
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