Martinez unmoved by Barkley transfer talk

, 25 September, 40comments  |  Jump to most recent
20 year-old has resumed light training
Roberto Martinez was again forced to publicly pour cold water on speculation linking Ross Barkley with a move away to a higher-placed team following reports that Manchester City are lining up a big-money bid for him next summer.

The Toffees' boss has always been insistent that far from selling his best young talent, he wants to build around team around those players and he reiterated that Barkley is not for sale and Everton have not had any contact regarding the 20 year-old.

"I don't think it's anything to comment on," he told reporters this morning. "From my point of view, that's something that is a rumour, and we'll leave it there.

"We've spoken enough in the past about potential interest, and I always say the same thing. We take it as a footballing compliment and we'll move on. All we want from Ross now is to be able to get him fully fit and ready to enjoy his football and help the team. We are looking forward to that day."

Barkley moved to the next phase of his recovery from a torn medial knee ligament this week when he returned to light training but Martinez said that his return to first-team action is still a few weeks away.

"It's a difficult situation, because you're going to ask me every day to give you an update — and medicine and football don't go hand in hand," he continued.

"In football, you want the player to be fit tomorrow, and medicine always wants an extra day. Somewhere down the line, those two don't marry together.

"But he's doing really well. He's starting to run, and that's something we didn't expect until next week. The next bit will be introducing the ball. I do expect that it's going to be a few weeks still. But he's well ahead of what we expected, and it's all positive."

There is no definitive news on either Steven Pienaar or Seamus Coleman, with both players to be assessed during late fitness tests before the manager finalises his team for the derby.

“Steven Pienaar is recovering really well and we are going to assess him over the next few days,” Martinez said.

“It's the same with Seamus. Both are in the same situation where it is too early to tell if they are going to be fit for the weekend.”

Quotes sourced from ESPN FC



Reader Comments (40)

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Chris Gould
1 Posted 25/09/2014 at 16:36:11
Give it a rest. Can we concentrate on this weekend. This rumour nonsense is boring. The window is shut and there's speculation over next summer's window!!!
Chris Gould
2 Posted 25/09/2014 at 16:41:28
Oh I get it - he's resumed light training. Hoo bloody rah. Now can we concentrate on the biggest game of our season so far?
Linda Morrison
3 Posted 25/09/2014 at 16:48:09
I agree with you Chris but I think it would make very good sense for the club to sell Barkley in the summer.

We could name one of the stands in the new ground after him.

For a young player he is already getting to be too injury prone for my liking. By the time he comes back he will have probably missed about a third of the season.

He missed quit a lot last season again with injury. he can have flashes of sheer brilliance but then go missing. And if I put my finger on it I think a lot of our problems this season is too many older players trying to keep up with the pace and too many young players still adapting

Ian Linn
4 Posted 25/09/2014 at 17:06:40
I just don't think he's consistent enough.

If someone offers us a huge pile of money we should take it

John Voigt
5 Posted 25/09/2014 at 17:41:35
The rumor I've heard is Barkley to Man City. Man City are short on home grown players. Players who can make it into the starting 11 or the guys on the bench who are home grown players are highly valued at a club like Man City.

Chelsea are also short on home grown players.

If either of these clubs make a big money move for Barkley next summer it will be hard to keep him at Everton. A move by one of the big teams would come with a huge pay raise which Everton can't match.

I've heard the salary limit at Everton is around 70,000 per week and the big money teams pay a lot more.

If Barkley is offered personal terms well in excess of 100,000 and there's a big transfer fee he'll leave.

It's my opinion there's a difference between being a selling club and a reluctant selling club. Everton don't want to lose Barkley, but will pretty much have to let him go if the price is right.

Dave Williams
6 Posted 25/09/2014 at 18:06:56
You are spot on Linda especially your last sentence. The under 21 players are mostly not good enough and will move on whilst the under 18s have some very good players who may be just too young. Age catches up eventually and when a defence like ours has one 30-something trying to cover for another thirty something with another one (at least) in centre midfield it is easy to see the problem.

Athletic players can trample all over them even though they are not as skilful and we have to phase out the older players. I always felt Barry was a bad buy solely because of age - all teams need experience but not to this extent!!

Mark Griffiths
7 Posted 25/09/2014 at 18:16:31
What is the right price though? I don’t think he should go for less than £40m.
Mark Taylor
8 Posted 25/09/2014 at 18:31:24
We have enough cases where selling a player has been seen in retrospect to be good business so I wouldn’t rule out selling Barkley but not only must the price be right (i.e high, because the rich clubs do urgently need English players) but we must have every penny re-invested in the squad.

On the first part, I trust Kenwright, generally he does good deals on sales, but the problem is the second part.

Arthur Moore
9 Posted 25/09/2014 at 18:49:03
Manchester City should be reported to the FA for trying to poach Ross Barkley.

He has just signed a contract , their mind games will no doubt get him in the end.

The FA should dock points to clubs that do this.

Colin Glassar
10 Posted 25/09/2014 at 18:54:41
Man City have denied any interest but if you want to believe everything you read in the gutter press feel free.

Sure he can earn a fortune at city or Chelsea but do you honestly think he’d enjoy being a bench warmer? Getting a few minutes every week just so City or the Chavs can fill their ’home-grown’ quota? I somehow think that this kid has a bit more integrity and thirst for the game than that. I might be naïve but I think he’s happy to develop his game at Everton for at least a couple of more years and become the main man rather than some squad player.

Rick Tarleton
11 Posted 25/09/2014 at 18:59:40
We buy Lescott from Wolves, City buy him from us. We buy, Vernon, Pickering and Newton from Blackburn as we did when we were the big spenders. Until we have an NFL draft system in football, that’s how it will be. Everton are a middle ranking team as one correspondent puts it we are reluctant sellers, but sellers we are. we need a corrupt billionaire to buy us up, any hopes?
Gavin Johnson
12 Posted 25/09/2014 at 18:55:07
It’s a sad reality that he’s going to leave at some point unless we have upturn in fortune and have investment, which is unlikely until we get a new stadium.

Unless we qualify for Europe again this season I wouldn’t be surprised if we reluctantly sell this summer. Although I’d be extremely miffed if the transfer fee was for a penny less than £50M.

Peter Laing
13 Posted 25/09/2014 at 19:22:24
Some pessimistic posters on here, Ross loves it at Everton, has just signed a new contract and has never indicated his desire to move on. Fuck Man City and the gutter press, Ross Barkley is the future of Everton FC.
Kunal Desai
14 Posted 25/09/2014 at 19:42:26
Ross only signed a new contract so Everton could get the maximum fee possible. We have him for half a season and then he’ll move on to a side challenging for top honours.
Rob Halligan
15 Posted 25/09/2014 at 19:51:01
Peter Laing #13. The only sensible post on here so far. Barkley is going nowhere and by all accounts he has no desire to leave.
Gavin Johnson
16 Posted 25/09/2014 at 20:06:04
Peter, I don’t think it comes down to any desire to leave. I believe it’ll come down to Bill and his friends receiving an offer they can’t refuse if we have a mediocre season. They’ll also have a justification they can use for selling then.
Harold Matthews
17 Posted 25/09/2014 at 20:34:25
Yes Gavin. Bill and his mates love a good offer.
Peter Laing
18 Posted 25/09/2014 at 20:38:46
Until that happens, which is a big fat ’if’ I certainly won’t be losing any sleep. Too many Evertonians are still carrying the scars of the Rooney debacle; that was then, this is now. Rooney is Rooney. Ross in my opinion is a totally different entity altogether.
Tom Oliver
19 Posted 25/09/2014 at 20:47:09
Presumably City are basing this idea on the success of their development of Jack Rodwell, but I thought weÂ’d agreed to give him to Chelsea to say thanks for the cheap deal on Lukaku.
Anthony Lamb
21 Posted 25/09/2014 at 21:02:30
Such is the obscene cash-cow that is this over-inflated Premier League that if Everton do not get their playing act in order and manage only to achieve a mid-table finish (on current form this would be an achievement!) then their end of season finish payments would show a considerable loss of revenue. In that scenario it could well be that the sale of Barkley could be seen as nothing more than a financial compensation for a financially crippling loss -IF current trends continue.

In the end it will simply be business - much as we may regret the loss of a promising young home-grown footballer it is business. If City or Chelsea do want Barkley then the inducements they can offer would be hard for the club and the player to refuse. At the turn of the ’60s, as Rick mentions above, I well remember us being able to buy almost any player we wanted and the Lancashire and Scottish clubs in particular lost some of their brightest talents although I am sure the transfer fees helped them stay alive/develop etc. In this case one hopes that Everton too get the highest possible fee that suitors are willing to pay.

It is a sad fact of life that chickens do tend to come home to roost and now it is our turn to be victim to the predatory power of the so called "big boys". However, it may well all be rumour!

Ian Riley
22 Posted 25/09/2014 at 20:49:29
If an offer between £40 and 50 million comes in, and Barkley is offered £150,000 a week, who are we to turn it down? Every player has a price and sadly it would be to much to say no. Thankfully not one player was sold in the summer but unless we are in the top four come January, then balancing the books has to happen.

I actually think Barkley could be sold for more than £50 million given the lack of central midfielders with his pace, build and skill. Sadly, he will go because money talks and this will not be the desire of the chairman. Furthermore, the squad needs younger players to come in.

Jason Heng
24 Posted 25/09/2014 at 22:02:49
Players at the turn of 20 sell at the premium because they have some track record and lots of potential – real of otherwise. Chelsea realise this and are hence stockpiling teenage stars. We sold Rooney too early, but did a good deal with Jeffers. A sell-on clause should help to hedge the "risk" of the player actually becoming a real success.
Anthony Jones
25 Posted 25/09/2014 at 22:10:08
Yes, every player has a price, but can we not enjoy Ross playing for us in the hope that he will be at Everton long term rather than spout defeatist drivel about how much he should be sold for. Fair enough if he was agitating through the press but as yet he appears to be happy with us. He doesn’t always set the world alight but how many players at the world cup did? Messi was pretty quiet. Someone get Barca on the phone!
Mark Andersson
26 Posted 26/09/2014 at 07:09:38
Paper talk – you can either wrap your chips in it or wipe your arse... either way, enjoy any good games he plays.
Glen Garrett
27 Posted 26/09/2014 at 08:12:44
I think that Everton should sell Barkley and buy a complete new defence. This season so far, Everton have proved that they can score 2 goals or more a game without Barkley playing. If they could just bloody defend, they would be sitting top of the Premier League right now. The problem is we can’t defend. So let’s sell Barkley and get new defenders who can defend.
Adam Luszniak
28 Posted 26/09/2014 at 08:38:41
I simply would not sell him. Yes, we could do with the money, there’s no denying this. There’s also no guarantee that a huge splurge of cash brings success, look at Spurs and them across the park.

There will be differing and equally valid opinions on Ross’s actual potential, but mine, for what it’s worth, is this: Ross Barkley is by far the most exciting player I’ve ever seen in an Everton shirt. OK, he doesn’t do it week-in & week-out but I believe that will come. The goals he scored last season made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Not only is he worth doing everything feasible to hang on to, due to his qualities on the pitch, I believe he will do a huge amount to increase the brand value of the club. He is the only Everton player (baring maybe Lukaku due to his price tag) who is given regular attention and coverage by the national media, and this is helped in no small part by the fact he is seen as a future star in an England jersey. Say what you like about Hodgson and his boys, but having Everton players in the national side must help exposure for the club around the world?

I honestly think we would be mad to sell him!

Joseph Clarke
29 Posted 26/09/2014 at 09:37:59
Put an £80 million price tag on him. If anyone is willing to pay that, and as long as it is all used to get other players, that is okay. Otherwise, he stays.
Jack Plant
30 Posted 26/09/2014 at 09:56:31
Anyone else living in London and picking up The Sport today will have noticed that Red Shite prick Tony Hodson running with this as one of his lead articles. Kopites should not be allowed to run newspapers.
Liam Reilly
31 Posted 26/09/2014 at 09:59:16
The same shite is trundled out week on week by reporters with no new news to sell, so they can dig out the ’We told you first’ nonsense when a small minority of them (law of averages) actually come off.

File it where it deserves to be – bin.

Tony Abrahams
32 Posted 26/09/2014 at 10:55:07
Linda, I can’t wait for us to be adapting to Barkley. The kid’s injured but he’s going to Man City or Chelsea.

Meanwhile, not a mention of that other selling club on Merseyside getting Loads of Sterling when Real Madrid come calling!

Neil Pickering
33 Posted 26/09/2014 at 12:21:03
If Man City or anyone else are stupid enough to pay £50M for a lad who quite frankly has done nothing of note in a blue shirt, then I say sell, sell, sell!

Even if he was fit, he would be behind Naismith in the pecking order, in my opinion; like Lukaku, he is so overhyped itÂ’s unbelievable.

I hate to say it, but if youÂ’re comparing potential, then Sterling who plays for the Redshite is streets ahead of our Ross and that other pudding up front our manager spunked BillÂ’s family silver on.

Andy Meighan
36 Posted 26/09/2014 at 15:30:48
Sterling streets ahead of Ross? Yeah, sure... Sterling has got pace to burn. But mainly his final ball is shit whereas Ross plays in the engine room, has pace to burn, two great feet, can spot a pass, and can score outrageous goals. IÂ’ve never seen Little Richard hit goals like Newcastle away, Swansea away and Man City at home the way Ross did last season.

To sell this great talent would be folly, it really would. ItÂ’s no coincidence weÂ’ve struggled without him this season, is it. CanÂ’t wait to see him back in the side, it canÂ’t come quick enough.

Peter Foy
38 Posted 26/09/2014 at 17:01:24
Well letÂ’s just hope to fuck he isnÂ’t reading the shite being spouted on here. Selling your best players has never been a good policy. Ever.

What’s with all this "If the price is right" shite? – like we’re all gonna make a few bob personally. Get a grip. I don’t hear the Redshite saying that the Sewer Rat fee was "just too good to refuse". Do you?

Richard Reeves
39 Posted 26/09/2014 at 17:32:00
Peter Foy (#38). 100% spot on. ThereÂ’s always one or two that canÂ’t see the bigger picture but itÂ’s surprising how many have popped up lately and in my opinion just because weÂ’ve had a bad start to the season. I thought the Martinez Out comments were embarrassing enough but for some to suggest we should sell Barkley to help fund a new stadium is shocking. These kind of fans are what KenwrightÂ’s dreams are made of.
Danny Kewley
40 Posted 27/09/2014 at 00:24:52
The boy Barkley is gonna be one hell of a cracker!
Dennis Ng
41 Posted 27/09/2014 at 02:04:13
RB is priceless at the moment. I read of how CR7 would cost manu $140m to buy back. Of course, not all players are sold at insane prices only to see their value go up even further, but RB is at the age where it can well happen so whatever the thought is, "the right price" is way more than what papers spout.
John Daley
42 Posted 27/09/2014 at 05:44:42
"..has done nothing of note in a blue shirt....sell, sell, sell"

I’m baffled by some our supporters and their seeming desperation to dismiss a local lad with a love for the club, an abundance of natural ability, and an entire career at the top level laying in wait for him.

He should be the one player we fight tooth and nail to keep, rather than gleefully thinking of the green we could get for him.

To say he’s done ’nothing of note’ in an Everton shirt in his short career thus far is, simply, bollocks, more blinkered than a post ’pulled out his old queen’s ’ole’ Oedipus Rex with blood still pissing from his punctured pork pies.

What do people expect from him? To be performing miracles and supplying super heroic moments every match, after just one full season as a first-team starter? He became an integral part of the squad, impressed every pundit around, scored some breathtaking solo goals and broke into the England World Cup squad. What more should he have done for you to deem him worthy of keeping?

Seriously, if the boy donned a Superman suit and flew fast as fuck around the planet until it started rotating backwards, some people would still tut and say, if he was all he’s cracked up to be, he should’ve done it in a fucking Cher wig whilst warbling ’If I Could Turn Back Time’.

It’s already evident from the few games this season how much the side miss his drive and direct running through the middle and his ability to switch defence to attack with a simple shimmy or shrug of the shoulder.

As for Naismith being a bigger threat than Barkley in a similar role? Not for me. That’s like saying Danny Glover makes Arnold Schwarzenegger look like a pussy when it comes to kicking shit out of a Predator.

Paul Burns
43 Posted 27/09/2014 at 10:07:27
Some right tossers on here, "we should sell", "heÂ’s done nothing in a blue shirt" etc, youÂ’re supposed to be Evertonians, get a fucking grip.
Gavin Johnson
44 Posted 27/09/2014 at 14:48:42
Goal of the season..COYB
Gavin Johnson
45 Posted 27/09/2014 at 14:50:08
wrong thread there

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