Joey Barton has claimed that Ross Barkley’s move to Chelsea broke down because Blues boss Antonio Conte went silent when the 23-year-old asked him what role he would have with the club.
As Barkley has just a year remaining on his current contract and turned down the opportunity to sign a new deal, the Toffees were looking to offload him and accepted a £35 million bid from Chelsea.
The player however decided against the move at the last minute and will remain with the Merseyside club until January.
Barton has now claimed that Barkley wished to move to Stamford Bridge but that the move broke down after Conte went silent on him. Speaking on TalkSport, he said, “Conte turned his phone off and Barkley’s representatives were trying to contact him.
“He wanted to say ‘look, where am I going to play’, and Conte turned his phone off. That is why Barkley got cold feet and never signed.
“He thought, ‘well, if the manager isn’t answering the phone to me he clearly doesn’t want me’, and that is why he went back to Everton.”
Tottenham are now the favorites and could end up landing the England international for a bargain price of £10 million in January.
