Tottenham will look to steal a march on Chelsea by opening the bidding for Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, according to Daily Telegraph journalist Matt Law.
He reports that Spurs’s first offer will be £20million plus £8million in add-ons. The Blues will likely then make a bid of their own as they seek to strengthen the numbers of home grown talent in their squad.
The Toffees were hoping to sell the England international for £50million this summer as they to try to prevent the player leaving for nothing when his contract runs out next year. The closeness of the transfer deadline, and the 23 year old’s serious hamstring injury, will however force them to sell for half that amount.
In addition to Barkley, manager Antonio Conte is said to be keen on landing two other England internationals in Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Leicester’s Danny Drinkwater before the end of the transfer window.
