Despite boasting of one of the best benches in the Premier League right now, Everton’s midfield depth could be dealt a huge blow should Gareth Barry call time on his Goodison Park stay this summer.
The 36-year-old is wanted by West Brom, and with his chances of getting more playing minutes this season higher at the Hawthorns, he could be tempted to a switch.
Everton want to keep Barry for another season, but Toffees’ manager Ronald Koeman has claimed he wouldn’t prevent the ex-England international from leaving.
Speaking after Saturday’s game, the Dutch replied when asked if Barry would be allowed to leave, “It depends…Gareth is a great professional and I’m happy if he will stay but if he will like to move, OK, we will see what happens. I don’t know. At the moment we don’t have to make that decision.”
Barry made 33 Premier League appearances last term, but won’t be able to enjoy such number of features this term. He now has Morgan Schneiderlin, Idrissa Gana Gueye, James McCarthy, Muhamed Besic, Davy Klaassen, Wayne Rooney and Tom Davies to compete with for playing time.
Having spent the last 4 seasons playing 131 league games for Everton, the former Aston Villa and Manchester City midfielder has earned himself a page in the history books of the club.
While a stay would come handy, leaving now will actually help free up space for another youth player to come through, or make more playing minutes available for others.
