By Fraser Bernstein
Whilst many welcome the January 1 with cries of Happy New Year, for Spurs fans there is another reason to celebrate – the opening of the January transfer window.
The most quoted transfer rumour of recent days is the potential move of Ross Barkley from Everton to Tottenham Hotspur with The Telegraph mooting a potential transfer.
The 23-year-old England international has not figured prominently for Ronald Koeman’s side (although he did recently score against Hull in Everton’s 2-2 draw) and has been tipped for great things ever since he emerged from Everton’s youth set-up.
However, it now appears as though his career is now stalling on Merseyside, especially having been overlooked for Gareth Southgate’s last England squad.
A change of scene may be exactly what Barkley needs in order to kick-start his career. An added incentive for Everton ace to strongly consider the switch to North London is Mauricio Pochettino’s past record of developing young English talent.
The Argentine has always promoted youth – his record at Southampton with the emergence of Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Nathaniel Clyne is evidence of that.
The list continues even further at Spurs – Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Danny Rose have all progressed in leaps and bounds since the arrival of Pochettino. Barkley will most likely take this into consideration should a concrete bid arrive from Tottenham.
A bid for Barkley could also see a swap-deal involving Moussa Sissoko going the other way to Goodison Park. The French international was subject to a deadline day bid from the Toffees in August, only for Spurs to hijack the bid and bring him to White Hart Lane instead.
However, Sissoko’s form has been patchy at best, and a straight swap for Barkley would go down very well with Spurs fans, who would welcome Barkley with open arms. This potential transfer is certainly one to keep an eye on over the next month.