Ross Barkley might not join Tottenham or Chelsea in the final days of this transfer window because Everton are yet to see any bid for him, manager Ronald Koeman has said.
Goals from Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata caused Evertons’ 2-0 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday without Barkley, whose plans to leave Goodison Park this summer were disrupted by a torn hamstring picked up in training that will keep him sidelined for up to three months.
Asked if there has been any movement on the issue of Barkley’s future, Koeman replied: “No, no. At this moment [he stays] because we don’t have any offer on the table for Ross.”
“I am disappointed about the first half because the ball possession was poor,” he added. “That at least cost us the second goal. And we had space to play but didn’t play.
“We had not enough movement to give options to the player on the ball and you know how Chelsea start and press, you need to be at your best to get a result. We weren’t at our best. The second half was better, much more controlled, better organisation, but still difficult. We lost it in the first half, not the second half.
“We need at least two more players to get numbers in, but the most important thing is to get a striker in. If you look at all the squads of the big teams, they have so many options. If we get everybody back, like [Seamus] Coleman, [Morgan] Schneiderlin, [Yannick] Bolasie, [James] McCarthy… if we have them, that’s good. But we have injuries, which are part of football as well.
“I’m always confident because we did some good business [this summer], but the board knows the importance of the two signings.”
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