Tottenham still want to sign Everton midfielder in January

Tottenham are ready to step up their interest in Ross Barkley despite the fact the Everton midfielder has been injured all season, reports The Daily Mirror.

Barkley is still recovering from a hamstring injury suffered during the summer and isn’t expected to make a full recovery until midway through November.

However, Tottenham are ready to step up their interest in the 23-year-old as Mauricio Pochettino grows increasingly concerned about his own injury problems in midfield.

Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele are both sidelined for Tottenham and Pochettino has already conceded he has to carefully manage Dembele’s involvement due to his tendency to get injured.

Tottenham were heavily linked with a move for Barkley during the summer but appeared to miss out on his signature after Chelsea agreed a late deal with Ronald Koeman’s side.

However, Barkley pulled the plug on the deal to consider his future in January and it’s understood a move to Tottenham is his preference as he looks to kickstart his career following a turbulent spell under Koeman.

The England international’s current deal is due to expire at the end of the current campaign but Tottenham want to get a cut-price deal over the line in January to maintain their title challenge this season.

Since the start of last season, Everton have won 50% of their Premier League matches with Barkley in the starting XI compared to just 21.4% when he has not featured from the off.