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5 reasons Tottenham may NOT sign Ross Barkley in January

By Rucker Haringey

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 30: Ross Barkley of Everton gets past N'Golo Kante of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park on April 30, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 30: Ross Barkley of Everton gets past N'Golo Kante of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park on April 30, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 27: Moussa Sissoko of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley at Wembley Stadium on August 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 27: Moussa Sissoko of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley at Wembley Stadium on August 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) /

2. Everton may refuse to negotiate

The relationship between Barkley and Everton isn’t the only icy one in this scenario. Everton officials still seem to harbor ill will towards Tottenham over Moussa Sissoko’s Deadline Day move last summer. That animosity could cause the Toffees to refuse to engage in negotiations with Spurs.

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That could prove to be a very foolish decision, but we’ve seen things like this happen before. The egos of football decision makers tend to be very large and very delicate. If higher-ups at Everton are still upset about Sissoko snubbing them for Tottenham, they could look to exact their revenge with Barkley.

Again, I have to mention how stupid this would be. Everton should be thanking Spurs for allowing them to avoid signing Sissoko. He’s been a colossal flop in North London. Tottenham would happily allow Everton to sign him for £30 million now.

Of course, the Toffees aren’t interested in revisiting that transaction. Their ownership wants to make sure everyone in Europe knows they are operating as a big club now. That could mean using Spurs as an example to clubs around the world. They may wish to prove that tapping up an Everton player is no longer an acceptable strategy. Such a silly, emotional decision could send Barkley elsewhere.

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