Reports: Chelsea set to beat Tottenham in race for Premier League midfielder
What’s the story?
It's a universal fact right now that Chelsea have a paper thin squad. The Premier League champions have held on until now but the manager feels that he needs to add fresh faces to the squad to avoid more injuries.
As per reports in The Sun, Chelsea are set to reignite their interest in Ross Barkley in January. The Everton midfielder was on the verge of signing for the Blues in the summer as well but backed out of the move on deadline day.
In case you didn’t know...
Everton had agreed a deal with Chelsea for the sale of Ross Barkley on Deadline day. However, to everyone's surprise, the midfielder decided not to attend the medical and rejected the move.
Some reports suggested that he walked out during his medical at Cobham but the Englishman rebuffed all speculations and revealed that he never went for any medical. He also went on to say that he rejected the move as Antonio Conte did not promise him a starting role at the club and that was the main reason for him to opt against the move.
The heart of the matter
Chelsea are not giving up on signing him and are set to hold talks with the midfielder again. The midfielder would reportedly wait for Everton to announce a new manager before making a decision.
Apart from Chelsea, Tottenham are also said to be keen on signing him. Spurs are ready to offer him more game time than Chelsea but the wages will be nearly half of what The Blues are willing to pay.
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Author’s Take
Barkley is likely to opt against the move once again as Chelsea already have Kante, Drinkwater, Fabregas and Bakayoko fighting for the three places in the starting XI. Ampadu and Scott are also adding the pressure while Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also set to return and fight for it next summer.