Everton boss Ronald Koeman has told Tottenham Hotspur that they will have to dig deep if they want to prize England midfielder Ross Barkley away from Goodison Park this summer. The 23-year-old is believed to be Mauricio Pochettino’s primary summer target with Spurs yet to bring in any new reinforcements on the eve of the new season.
 

Having rejected any advances from The Toffees to discuss a new deal on Merseyside, Barkley has already hinted that a move to the capital is what he would prefer. According to The Mail, Spurs are only willing to pay £25M for Barkley whereas Everton are holding out for the £50M they have placed on their young star.
 

Koeman is desperate to land Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson who is likely to cost around £40M and is planning to use the funds raised from any sale of Barkley to do just that. Speaking at his press-conference ahead of Saturday’s home clash with Stoke City, the Dutchman stated that; “I believe he will make the move. If not he is a player of Everton and if he shows to me he is one of the best then it is possible he can start, like everyone.”
 

“We have experience of what we need to pay for players who came here and had one year of contract. If there is a club thinking we can wait until the last day and we put some money on the table and we get Ross Barkley, sorry, you do not get Ross Barkley. I have experience. When I was in Southampton we lost some players (Victor Wanyama to Tottenham), but I am mentioning the name of no club!”