Tottenham still odds-on for Barkley, but Sigurdsson is the hold up
Published:
We’re less than a month away from the new Premier League season, but the futures of Ross Barkley and Gylfi Sigurdsson remain up in the air.
The two midfielders’ destinies are very much linked, with Everton the common theme.
A sticking point however, as always, is money.
Everton remain very keen on Sigurdsson, and likewise Tottenham with Barkley, but neither deal has yet gone ahead.
It’s the Toffees who have to do the juggling, for they’re unlikely to sell Barkley – even if they do agree a fee with Spurs – until they’ve acquired Sigurdsson from Swansea.
And Everton’s reluctance to match the Iceland international wages’ is causing a transfer traffic jam.
As and when they do agree terms, then they’ll be far happier to see Barkley go.
The Goodison Park outfit are currently playing hardball for the Englishman, demanding Spurs far £50m.
And the North Londoners aren’t seeing any value in that, with Barkley available for free in a year’s time.
So, in theory at least, once Everton sign Sigurdsson, don’t be surprised to see them slash Barkley’s asking price in a fire sale.
Despite the hold up, our traders remain confident that both deals will go ahead this summer.
Everton remain the 4/7 favourites for Iceland international Sigurdsson, with Tottenham seemingly nailed-on at 1/7 to take Barkley to White Hart Lane.
There is one potential hiccup in all of this, though.
It’s believed Leicester City remain keen on stealing Sigurdsson, and are willing to beat Everton’s wage offer.
The Foxes are set to lose Riyad Mahrez in the coming weeks – most likely to Roma – and Sigurdsson would be an ideal successor for the 2015-16 Premier League champions.
So if Leicester win the Sigurdsson scrap (it’s 4/1 that they do), Everton won’t reduce their Barkley asking price, and neither they nor Spurs sign their prime targets.
Click here for all the latest summer transfer odds.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
