Tottenham trying to use Barcelona against Everton

Tottenham are trying to drive down Ross Barkley’s price

It’s clear that Tottenham need to add an attacking midfielder who can unlock opponents who park the bus. Spurs’ frustrating 0-0 tie against Swansea on Saturday proved the point perfectly. The real question is who the club can realistically add when the January transfer window opens.

It’s equally as obvious that Mauricio Pochettino has two chief targets. The Argentine gaffer has expressed clear interest in both Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes and Everton ace Ross Barkley in the past. At various times last summer, it seemed that one of the two stars signing with Tottenham was a foregone conclusion.

In the end, Spurs came up empty in their chase for both stars. Barcelona pulled out of a Deadline Day deal for Gomes and Barkley’s severe injury cost him a chance to move to North London this summer. Of course, the summer wasn’t Pochettino’s last chance to sign either playmaker. Spurs are expressing interest in both players again in advance of the January window.

Reports from England claim that Barcelona may be willing to let Gomes go for a transfer fee as small as £20 million. At that price, Spurs would certainly be an interested suitor. I have serious doubts over whether or not those reports are accurate though.

In fact, I will go so far as to say that Daniel Levy and company are the source behind those reports. You may wonder why Tottenham officials would be motivated to leak a low transfer fee. The answer, clearly, is to scare Everton into dropping their January demands for Barkley.