Wage demands blamed as Tottenham cool interest in Barkley

Rob McCarthy
Ross Barkley: Not what Chelsea need?

Ross Barkley: Not what Chelsea need?

Tottenham have reportedly cooled their interest in two of their top transfer targets this summer.

Spurs have been strongly linked with moves for Everton’s Ross Barkley and Porto right-back Ricardo Pereira but the Daily Mail states that those moves are now less likely to happen.

Everton are said to want as much as £50million for England star Barkley but Spurs are unwilling to match that fee, despite recently having had a cash windfall after Kyle Walker joined Manchester City.

Barkley was left out of Everton’s trip to Tanzania, sparking rumours of an imminent exit, but the Toffees claimed he was suffering with a groin injury and they are still keen to keep the 23-year-old.

The player’s reported wage demands of £150,000 a week – more than Spurs pay Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane – have also been blamed.

Ricardo Pereira had been tipped as a potential replacement for Walker, especially as he has a similar attacking approach to his game, but Kieran Trippier penned a bumper new deal with the club on Tuesday and is expected to be first choice when the new campaign gets underway.

Spurs are more likely to sign a younger, less expensive option to develop under Trippier, or even turn to last season’s Under-23 squad where Kyle Walker-Peters excelled last season.

Walker-Peters, who is under contract with Spurs until 2019, was part of the England Under-20 side that recently won the World Cup in South Korea.