Do you buy into all the Ross Barkley transfer hype? Do you really think the Everton star would actually be on the move? The Daily Star first said in April:
Starsport understands Liverpool are willing to smash their transfer record to land the midfield ace with boss Brendan Rodgers a huge admirer.
But he will face a battle to sign him, with any possibility of Barkley being up for grabs sure to spark interest from a string of Premier League rivals including the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Despite Barkley’s signing a four-year contract extension to stay at Goodison Park in July, The Daily Star reports now today Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool are all interested in signing the 20-year-old.
Everton Manager Roberto Martinez has swatted away the suggestions and said:
“I don’t think it is easy to get footballers like John Stones and Ross Barkley. I think, as English players, they are phenomenal footballers, and you are going to get that.
“As a football club, we want John and Ross to keep progressing, keep developing, and they know they can do that with Everton. And that’s the only thing that matters to me. I’m not going to just be worried about other teams’ interest because there will be interest — there’s no two ways about it. These two players are as good as it gets, in terms of that age group, if not European football.” {ESPN FC}
We’re not buying it.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2