Ever since bursting onto the scene at Everton, Ross Barkley has been tipped to eventually secure a transfer to one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League. However, while the playmaker has developed as a footballer at an acceptable rate, he is yet to reach the heights expected of him. Some have criticised his lack of involvement within the England squad and it was well documented that he did not gain any minutes at Euro 2016, but when Ronald Koeman openly comes out and dishes out ultimatums about signing new contracts, you have to wonder whether the issue is with the 23-year-old rather than Roy Hodgson, Gareth Southgate and Koeman. If reports are to be believed, Barkley will not sign a contract below £100,000 per week but even though he could probably collect that wage packet elsewhere, now would be the best time to remain at Goodison Park and prove a point rather than make the switch to one of a number of clubs which are being claimed to be possible destinations by online bookies.
If you want to take advantage of a free bet or you are attracted to some of the betting odds on offer, Tottenham Hotspur are said to be the club who will make the most effort to sign him before the start of next season. Making the move from Liverpool to London may seem tempting to Barkley but the main question he must ask himself is can he accept being second-choice at a bigger club? We are not making a direct comparison between Barkley and Moussa Sissoko, but look at what happened to the Frenchman after Mauricio Pochettino shelled out £30m for his signature? Transfer fees matter little to the Spurs head coach and although he recognises that his squad requires greater depth to compete in four competitions, Barkley's progress could stagnate because of the players in front of him. If Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen both remain at the North London outfit, Barkley will be reduced to 20-minute cameos for much of the top-flight campaign.
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Next in the betting shortlist comes West Ham United, who will not be playing European football next season and have just finished in the bottom half of the table. The Hammers need a replacement for Dimitri Payet and have funds to spend after the sale of their star man in January but while West Ham can offer Barkley the opportunity of becoming the vocal point in the team, they are never likely to become anything better than London's version of Everton. Europa League football may be achieved every so often but with the top six clubs in the Premier League creating a bigger gap between themselves and the rest of the division year-upon-year, there is little benefit of Barkley taking a risk at this stage of his career.
Next come Chelsea and Manchester United, who are both available at around 10/1. Good value, I hear you say, but while that may very well be the case, the only value Barkley is getting is a six-figure sum for 52 weeks of the year. If that is his main desire, fair enough, but like with Spurs, his football career will only come to a standstill. Blues coach Antonio Conte and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho would probably be happy to have a creative maverick in their squad, but Barkley starts no more than 20 matches in all competitions if he opts for Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford. Conte will not be prepared to put Barkley ahead of Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian in his pecking order, while Mourinho is hoping that Antoine Griezmann will be his spark in the final third of the pitch next season if he joins from Atletico Madrid.
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In theory, the only way Barkley becomes a regular starter at a top-six club is if Arsenal sell both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil and Arsene Wenger is prepared to part with £50m to sign a player who is relatively inconsistent in the big games. While supporters of the Gunners are pining for money to be spent, you would assume that spending such a fee on a player who has no Champions League experience and is not in the reckoning with England would be met with frustration rather than joy. With a number of Arsenal's home-based players being linked with moves away from the Emirates Stadium, it would come as no surprise if Wenger does make an approach for Barkley but he would find himself in a make-or-break stage of his career, even at 23. Is that really where he wants to be after quietly clamouring for what must be seen by him as a long-awaited transfer?
Something which should be remembered through all of this is that Barkley's ambition should not be mistaken for disloyalty. This is a player who has made 179 appearances for his boyhood club. That said, while it would be wrong to suggest that the time has come and gone for Barkley to move on to bigger and better things, he is currently not at a stage where he will benefit from waving goodbye to the Toffees. They are a club on the up, who have just returned to the Europa League and have the potential to play over 50 matches next season, a perfect platform for Barkley to showcase his talent both domestically and on the continent. He may be able to have that involvement without signing an extension to his contract but it he penned a three-year deal with a release clause, does that not suit everyone? Everton deserve to receive a fee for Barkley and their supporters demand commitment. Staying at Everton would be the correct decision, but agreeing new terms would mean he starts the new campaign as a hero rather than a rebel.
