Barkley back on Pochettino’s radar

Mauricio Pochettino wants to pair Ross Barkley with Eric Dier in the centre of his Tottenham Hotspur midfield which will also possibly give Barkley a chance of making a late run into Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad according to The Telegraph.

The article says we are again to do battle with Chelsea for his signature with a January bid for Barkley, who turned down a move to Stamford Bridge from Everton in the summer. All this could be good news for England manager Gareth Southgate, who in a recent press conference said he was short of central midfield talent to pick from as he prepares for next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia.

Barkley was a firm summer target for Mauricio Pochettino , but the the Everton man’s hamstring injury complicated the situation.

Chelsea reportedly had a £35 million bid accepted by Everton only for the midfielder to reject the move.However that fee will drop to around £20m in January, when Barkley should be fit and will only have six months remaining on his current Everton contract.

According to the article Chelsea will try again along with Spurs when the January window opens.
Pochettino believes Barkley is the perfect man to compete for a place with midfielder Mousa Dembele, with the Belgian midfielder battling yet another injury.

In the summer Dembele felt after surgery in the summer that old Father Time was catching up with him and in all probability he may never be 100 per cent fit again.

Dembele will need to be managed carefully and Pochettino is understood to have ear-marked Barkley to give him more options in central midfield and as possibly a long term successor to Dembele.

A big issue for England manager Gareth Southgate is the centre of midfield, with a shortage of few top-class options beneath Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson.

Manchester City star Fabian Delph was recalled to England’s squad for the Slovenia and Lithuania games, but he pulled out and had to be replaced Harry Winks.

That means Barkley will have a good chance of forcing his way back into England reckoning in time for the World Cup, perhaps, and should he join us, partnering Eric Dier for both club and country.

The three lions coach hailed Pochettino’s influence on his England players and his team used Hotspur Way to prepare for tonight’s Slovenia clash.

Everton star Barkley has not played for England since before last summer’s European Championships.
Ronald Koeman was a heavy critic of Barkley last season, but still finished the campaign with five Premier League goals and eight assists.

What are your thoughts on the Barkley situation? Is he worth a punt in January, or is he not needed now considering the form of Winks and Poch’s recent preference to use Sissoko more centrally. Let us know your thoughts.

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