Ross Barkley could return to Everton

Rumours of Barkley as well. Boys Pen Bill getting the band back together, in search of good times again. It's a big fat No from me.

I'm getting the popcorn ready for this comment section

No, no, and no.

Rooney got stick for a long time after he left until the truth emerged surrounding his move. With Ross the truth surrounding his move is pretty black and white...He stayed with us on the advise of Chelsea and his agents so that he'd get remunerated with bigger Chelsea wages and they'd pay a significantly lower fee, while we also continued to pay his wages and rehabilitated him back to fitness.

Isn't he banned from Liverpool Taxi's still?

Barkley is a rat who won't be welcomed back by me. I really hope this isn't true.

I think this will happen, but I don't think it should. As I said about Gana, coming back doesn't work. Given the circumstances of his leaving, a return will be hard for him and the fans to swallow. I thought he was slaughtered by Koeman but then burnt his bridges in retaliation with his attitude but never any comments.
We are where we are, low risk, cheap, make do, a plan for survival yes, but at least there is a change of playing squad. I just hope there is a plan this time.

Do a Chelsea and make them a take it or leave it offer of 2Mill and offer him a 3 year contract with an option of a year extension. He has to be better than those we presently have.

Well. Two Danny's here.

The one that had high hopes for young Ross and so wanted him to succeed in a blue shirt. That me would take him back.

Then the other half of me that watched him not live up to the hype. Left under a cloud. Embarrassed himself on his introduction to Chelsea by walking over the the away end and then didn't set the world alight. Given a chance at Villa. A bright start that faded into warming the bench.

So for me, more negatives than positives. But I'll throw a 3rd one in. Is he an improvement on what we currently have? Sadly, my answer is yes. We are were we are and have to improve. Based on where we are, he would be an improvement.

Hopefully with something to prove and finally live up to even a fraction of the potential we all saw in those early years.

Koeman did alienate Barkley, Christine, but Koeman wasn't far off the mark for criticising Barkley's decision making in games. For all his natural ability he is player who used to pace, physically and instinct, but he was always totally lost when he thought about a pass.

I bet an OCD manager like Tuchell has been pulling out the precious remaining strands of hair from his head in frustration trying to pass precise tactical instructions onto Barkley.

I really hope we bring in Gana on loan because while he's 32, he's the archetype No.6 we have been looking for since he was sold to PSG. He's never been replaced and his loan buys us time to find someone for next summer.

But I don't see Barkley bringing much to the table, even without the baggage he comes with.

No Judas No.

Fool me once, shame on you;
Fool me twice, shame on me.

We need a number 6, not a number 666

Like many others ambivalent on this happening, yes we could do with a player like him, but on the other hand the manner he left us, for the Club whose badge he kissed, and purported to have undying affection for, then turned into one of the many football mercenaries of recent times.

Too many negatives as Danny O has mentioned, so a swerve as far as I am concerned will garner my respect, both for the Club and Frank, that will show that principles do matter even in dire times.

No way Hozay! Now not even better than what we have or even are looking at. Keep your distance Everton.

Definitely no for me. We should be entering loan with buy options for a couple of Chelsea youngsters who might have a chance to play at the EPL level. Not someone proves he cannot.

Gana is in a different category. He's proven can play well in EPL. Left and plays at the highest Champs League level. If he's lost some speed he can compensate it with better experience against top teams. He won't have confidence issue. Barkley on the other hand is like Dele. We don't need a bunch of players with confidence issues. It won't help.

Definitely no for me. We should be entering loan with buy options for a couple of Chelsea youngsters who might have a chance to play at the EPL level. Not someone proves he cannot.

Gana is in a different category. He's proven can play well in EPL. Left and plays at the highest Champs League level. If he's lost some speed he can compensate it with better experience against top teams. He won't have confidence issue. Barkley on the other hand is like Dele. We don't need a bunch of players with confidence issues. It won't help.

No thanks. Not a box to box player, he gets stranded up the pitch with no pace to get back. A liability.

Lester(#12&13); Sorry but you are only allowed two incoming loans and one of them has gone on Vinagre. So, we either buy one of Barkley or Gana, if we want one on loan, or probably more correctly to stay within financial constraints which may or may not be subject to official sanction. It should also be remembered that unless we make some totally unbelievable profit this year then this will most likely be the story for the next 2 or 3 years.

He has hardly played in past two years but still represents an additional talent in the squad. The risk of it going wrong is a real danger for the club and the player; after Benitez we don't really need another time bomb, but beggars - both club and player - can't be choosers. Let's hope it works out.

Personally I think Gibbs-White would be a better option but I guess it says more about Ross that right at the peak of his career he'd be the cheaper transfer option.

Barkley no. Loftus-Cheek, Gilmour, Pulisic or Broja, yes!!

I still hate the way he left, he treated us like shit but he could be useful. Don't want him but if we can't find a younger, hungrier, better (more expensive) player then if cheap, and I mean almost nothing cheap, he is an alternative. What a depressing transfer window...

Please no. He lost us money over him leaving (a lot). And I'm sure Steven Gerrard (who knows a bit about midfielders) would have wanted him permanently at Villa if he proved himself. So the fact Ross is available tells us everything we need to know.

Christine at 4 - This time I am in full agreement with you Love - he is too full of himself and I feel would be a bad influence on the Squad. Still want Gana to come back though!

Barkley coming back under any circumstances is a big NO as far as I am concerned. Apart from the way his move to Chelsea was engineered costing us £20m net he wasn't particularly good. He never lived up to his potential even after years of nurturing, a point which was proved by him not getting a regular berth in the starting line up at either Chelsea or Villa. No (football) brain.

Now Chelsea are trying to get rid of him. Why do they think that we or Villa would be interested in taking him back?

Oh no. Feel as though I'm in a time warp. It's a NO for me.

Totally underwhelmed, Barkley, Mcneill, Vinegar. Why not buy the relegated Burnley team and make sure we go down!

Personally I don't understand why people are so angry with the way Ross left.

The last 4 years on and off the pitch have proved that Ross actually made a great decision leaving this basket case of a club when he did.

He hasn't had the most opportunities with Chelsea but has still managed to play in competitions and against opponents that are likely to visit Goodison anytime soon.

As for the money he apparently lost us well I think people need to have a think about how that likely happened.

Based on our complete lack of transfer nous and the clowns that have been in charge of this part of the club (see Gilfi, Tosun, Walcott, Bolasie, etc etc) do you really think that it was Ross that lost us the money?
Chances are we got done by the other club (Chelsea in this case) just like we usually do.

If he returns and performs then that's good enough for me. Alternatively if he returns and is shite…..well at least he'll be at home with our current midfielders

Do we not have enough headless chickens. A fragile mentality at best. Steer clear.

There'll be no Jagielka to reassure him that he's not being booed. Wouldn't end well.

First of all...it's a rumour!

If it turns out to be true, then who knows what influence our Chairman would be playing; with his "welcome home son)" ? Anyway if he does come, I hope he accepts that this is last chance saloon and acts accordingly. s far as his Everton career goes, what I remember is,he scored some cracking goals, run himself into trouble regularly when going forward. wasn't particularly aware that it is alright to chase a man who's just gone past him.
But may have learned to use his skills more effectively. As I said though, it's a rumour!

No thanks - a total waste of money. I'm sure if we looked in Europe for a similar player, we can do a lot better financially, and without all the baggage.

Niasse and Martina are willing to come back I hear. Give Besic a call too.

Brian, not to mention the 90s come backs to the "Everton Family", Unsworth, Ferguson and Stubbs. The club is obsessed.

Left us and was then immediately on the fringes of the England team. Has not done it at Chelsea. Has not done it at Villa and therefore it's a no from me BUT I have to say, too many hearts and too many sleeves on here. Football is a business and sentiment needs leaving at the front door. Again, so much negativity around the lad as with Idrissa about his religious beliefs and how Barkley is a turncoat etc. We sold him. He was regulalry booed before he was sold. It's as much about him as it is the club. If Lampard has seen something in the lad and he comes cheap and he's considered better than what we have then we have to let it happen and not boo him on his return. Is he better than what we have ? probably. Could we do better in the market at this time ? I doubt it. We need to let the new team slowly evolve. If anyone thinks we are going to be getting world beaters through the door this window then I suspect you are wrong. We scraped survival. Frank is hoping we can improve. Let Frank get the players in he wants and lets support that team, our team

As pointed out this is just a rumour but no smoke and all that.

I assume Lampard has actually played with Ross so will know him pretty well. If he thinks he can get a decent tune out of him at Goodison (and eventually BMD) then I'm for this, but I'm also very much in the not going back camp with Christine (speaking from personal experience x 2) so hopefully it's Lampard and his cohorts who would be behind this - and not sssh you know who!

Alan #15. The 2 loan rule is loans from other Premier league teams. Players from other leagues do not affect this.

As for Barkley. Like everyone else, I saw him as a young lad with potential. He got slagged off for not finding killer passes when his team mates stood still and gave him nothing to aim at. Got a bad injury and disillusioned. Yes, I accept the manner of his leaving left a bad taste. But I still put that down more to Koeman than the lad himself.

As to whether we should sign him. That is simple. Just ask the same questions we should ask with any signing.
Does he offer us better than we have in his position at the moment?
Can we afford him?
Is he willing to come to Everton?
Are there any other available options that fill the above criteria?
If the answers are Yes, Yes, Yes, No, then we sign him.
Idrissa Gueye, fits this. I also think Barkley does.
Those who want us to sign proven Champions League winners and rising stars get real. We are not shopping at Harrods. Even Lidl pushes our budget.

Fuck off Kenwright, we're not a charity

Everton are a laughing stock, buying journeymen players who wont enhance this very poor squad. Talk of Barkley coming back has to be a sick joke, cant get a game for Chelsea so goes on loan to Villa and they don't play him, because they also sussed he isn't very good. I have no idea if Lampard is on board with these signings or not, but it really looks like a club who went into the casino with bags bulging with money and lost the lot and are now forced to accept any scraps that are available.

How come Crystal Palace and Brighton can go and find young talent that blossom in the Premier league yet for the last few years we spent fortunes on people who were never the real deal from the off.

Let's be honest, Koeman destroyed him as a player, made him his scapegoat, crowd got on his back, even then Barkley still showed for the ball, always trying to drive us forward. I'd take him back for that reason, he has pace, can thread a pass through the eye of a needle, and unlike our midfielders, has the skill and passes the ball forward and quickly, an upgrade on what we have.

Barkley is the same player he was at 17, made no progress, still doesn't know when to release the ball, whether to pass or shoot,
jockey's when he should tackle, doesn't track back when needed, have look at his record over the last 2 season's at Villa and Chelsea,
no thanks.

I just saw that Barkley has unarchived all his old Everton posts on Instagram. Telling?

Chelsea want his wages off the books and we are likely candidates to help them out. We've got a new, highly regarded DOF, surely he will have better options than this.

Unfortunately James @39 yes. I remember when we brought Ferguson back many were excited and happy. Why as we could have moved for Dion Dublin, who went on to score over 100 Premier league goals, a lot more than Dunc. The obsession with ex players and players coming back has held us back for years.

Just for those who think bringing back Barkley would be a good move, even in his best season 2015/2016 he played 38 games and scored 8 league goals that was his best return for Everton. Lets also remember for most of that time he played just behind the main striker so not like a box to box midfield player a role he cant play bye the way. Also checked his stats for Chelsea his best league goal tally for them was 3 league goals in 27, so averages a goal every 8 games throughout his career so if we get him we can look forward to maybe 4 goals if he plays every game. Mind he would feel at home alongside Gray, Gordon, Iwobi who average 4/5 goals per season.

I've not seen him play for a couple of years- if he still has his pace and fitness then I'd take him provided the fee is very low and his wages are largely related to appearances.

On song he is better than what we have bearing in mind as well the five subs rule.

He left us under a cloud or two but he was very young, doesn't come across as the brightest and was told what to do by his agent. I wouldn't hold that against him as the club didn't exactly cover itself in glory either. For me if he can still hack it and is cheap then fine- if not, or if he is still mixing with gangsters then no!

When we sold Rooney we'd just finished 17th. We bought Marcus Bent and finished 4th so you never really know how things are going to pan out.

Is Jose Baxter still fit?

Dave 44, it's not just you who hasn't seen him play for the last 2 years mate,
That's part of the problem.
Question is, why?

Brian 43, Good post, but you are very generous to Iwobi and Gray. I believe Gray overperformed with his 5 PL goals last year. He scored once 4 for Leicester, the rest of his PL seasons is less than 4.
For Iwobi max 2 PL goals for us and max 3 for Arsenal. May be if you count his goals in training you will reach the average of 4-5!!
And their assist stats are not better. We are talking experienced PL players, so I don't think it will ever improve. I don't see them having much end product.
Gordon is still young and I am confident his end product in terms of goal and assist will come. Like Dele Alli he has got that instinct and attitude on the final third that ensures the goals will come. Iwobi and Gray has not got that.

Jeff- exactly! Does he still have it or is he just picking up his wages and is out on the town? A loan would be best but spending money on a fee or high wages is an awful risk when we already have Dele to sort out.

Barkley just isn't a very effective player. Villa fans absolutely couldn't stand him because he made almost zero impact on games.

There's a reason his career has nosedived.

We already have Alli as the fallen star. We don't need another. Alli at least has potential of a top player, Barkley has never proven to be anything but a wasted talent.

McNeill, Gordon, Grey, Alli - that'll do for attacking midfielders.

Too slow in thought and movement.
Always flatters to deceive and never produces. Also he has never ever been a 90 minute player, usually knackered by the 60th minute even though he doesn't seem to cover much ground during the game.
If we want to play fast attacking football breaking from defence with our wingbacks he would slow everything down and also struggle to get up in support.
He's never ever lived up to his promising start as a youngster and now he is getting too old and slow.
Move on fast

Apart from taking Everton for a ride, he's useless. Taking him back would be a new low for the Club. Are we really that desperate?

If Frank wants him then that's good enough for me,but he'll need to hit the ground running and work his bollocks off to win over the faithful,I believe.

What Ross Barkley did under Martinez has never been replaced. Whenever he got the ball, every defender was immediately on the back foot as they were petrified of his direct running, this created space for everyone else.

Unfortunately, neither Everton or Barkley have managed to re-create this again.

If he was on a loan or free with cheap wages, then he could very well be a good option to have, especially if he can re-connect with the fans and enjoy his football. I wouldn't want to be spending any money on him though.

Barkley really did us like a kipper when he left. Made us look like muppets, running down his contract. Anyone seen his video where he's absolutely plastered leaving a swanky London bar?

Then there's his chips in the Liverpool taxi barney. Then the time he was knocked out in a Liverpool pub. Big decision to be made.

Fran 50 spot on, we already have one basket case to nurture, we do not need another.

Mathew 53, he won't hit the ground running because he hasn't played for 2 years, and he certainly won't work his bollocks off.
So why bother?

I do honestly wonder what some people are seeing when they “watch” a game of footy. FYI, Ross Barkley does not:
1. Show for the ball
2. Run forward quickly
3. Score many goals
4. Tackle
5. Split defences
He's shite. He's had a handful of decent games in years. We did well to get rid of him and he certainly shouldn't be being entertained as an acquisition because he played for us before. That's Kenwright all over, the big fat teary fuxking fraud. If he we buy him, I would resign on the spot if I was Thelwell. A player like Gueye, yes because he still has things he can offer but never Barkley. Never

A very Everton signing this. After exhausting our extensive scouting of Wolves, Burnley, and former players of Wolves - we are now looking at former Everton players.

B for Barkley, who next John Collins?, Danny Cadamateri?

This club is a fucking joke. That'll do attitude has killed this club over the last 35 years, with one little fat moles finger prints all of it. A corpse that has joined football relics of Wednesday, Preston & Huddersfield, with the last rights that will be inevitable relegation.

Ian#57.
Has Barkley signed then?

Nick@56, correct and we already have the ineffective Tom Davies in Central midfield. McNeil at least is a much better addition to an awful midfield.

Can understand his inability to make it at Chelsea but failing at Villa shows whatever he had has well and truly gone. If he ends up here it further confirms our scouting capacity for new young talent is run by a one eyed monkey in a clown costume singing Danny Boy outside Lime st.

Agreed Joe @59. McNeil I'm fairly happy with relatively speaking. Davies is like Barkley without the pace ;-)
We must have the shitest scouting network in world football. Must be like that scene in Moneyball with all the arl fellas sat round the table pontificating about players and then they all get canned cos the team has been rubbish for years. Wish that would happen with us. Put Kenwright in the wheelie bin

I feel like he is the biggest let down we've had in recent years, should have been a world beater with his talent, but by all accounts too interested in the vices outside of professional sport to really maximize his gifts.
The romantic in me would love to see him given another chance, but the head is ruling the heart and we should be nowhere near this one.

I still maintain my suspicion that he wasn't coached properly or individually as a youngster.

Probably bigger, quicker and looked better than the rest, he was maybe left to his own devices rather than being coached and nurturing the obvious talent.

I appreciate you can never say how a player will turn out, but it's just something I've always thought.

Nick, and then take it to the bin wagon.

If he keeps the moaners on ToffeeWeb off Anthony Gordons back he will be a good addition to the squad, to the deadwood brigade he will be like pennies from heaven.

Brian - it's inevitable, it's what we do.

Ferguson, Jeffers, Rooney, Mcfadden, Beagrie, Unsworth, Pienaar, Gravesen etc just off the top my head of former players brought back All lesser players on their return, all paid salaries probably more to return than first time around. Pretty much all flopped.

I'd rather see the funds spent on new stars, than money spent on players that are 60% of their original level. Fairy tale nostagilic rubbish doesn't work.

Seriously? Are you telling me there ain't a better option out there except this washed out Chelsea and Villa reject!!!!!? I bet you its Blue Bill pushing hard for this one to go through ffs!

Ian, please see my post at 42 RE Ferguson, also you forgot Stubbs to your list. The Everton Family obsession has held us back for years.

For so long as Rondon is our only back up to DCL - and the first choice central midfield is Allan and Doucoure (with Davies and Gomes waiting in the wings) - I'll continue to find rumours like this very frustrating.

Nothing against Barkley as such (we know he's as frustrating as he is talented), just not really a priority and ties ups capital and maybe a precious loan spot.

Hopefully someone at the club is looking for higher priority players and has the imagination to look beyond Burnley, Wolves, Chelsea and Spurs.

If the Chav's pay us £10m upfront to take him back it could be worth looking at. Otherwise it's a no

I thought Koeman treated Barkley badly and continued to do so after his surgery. Koeman has and since had form of doing this. I thought Barkley had no choice but to leave.

Football wise I don't it is a goer. Barkley is ex old school Everton and is passed his best footballing wise.

He was shite with world class players around him.
The lad looks disinterested and gormless on the pitch.
Sorry but thats the way I see him, no dynamism and never up for the fight.

Aside from the issues surrounding his departure and costing the club a decent fee (how useful would that have been for the finances), he hasn't progressed as a player at a top club with top players.

That said, main reason I don't want him back is that he just isn't a professional. It was only as recently as last summer he was filmed being ejected from a fancy restaurant in the middle of the day and not looking like he knew what day of the week it was. I want us to sign hungry players who will improve the team as well as being a good influence in the dressing room. Avoid!

Robert (69) - “Hopefully someone at the club is looking for higher priority players and has the imagination to look beyond Burnley, Wolves, Chelsea and Spurs.”

Come on now. Don't be duped by internet rumours and other dissenting voices on ToffeeWeb. Yes, we have signed Tarkowski and Vinagre - but we've spent no money on transfer fees yet. If McNeil were to come in for less than £20 million then that looks like decent business to me - and I think fits neatly into your view of desirable profile (young, with resale value). Everything else looks like rumours at this stage - of dubious reliability.

I imagine you have noticed rumours about players like Guido Rodriguez and Aster Vranckz (amongst others) being lined up. I mean who knows if there is any real intent behind those rumours - but they seem to have more structure behind them than lazy and predictable clickbait rumours that play on Lampard's connections to Chelsea, and Thelwell's to Wolves. The transfer window allows fans to dream big and vent equally big - often based on fallacy - but let's see who we end up with (and what turns out to be our budget) before we reduce Thelwell and Lampard to having such a limited and unimaginative shopping list.

Regardless of the situation how he left at Everton, at that time he was like a lot of young players, in he wanted more success from the game, and when a club like Chelsea came calling that offered him more money and chance of trophies he went.

The sour taste of how the transfer came about was more likely the same as Rooney obnoxious agents controlled.

The better question, is he better than what we have ? or I would rather go with is he better than what may be elsewhere price wise ?

When supporters go on about Rooney coming back, at that time he was better than what we had. With Barkley I think there may be better if we can afford it elsewhere. The other talking point is, it was known that Chelsea were willing to sell him but I have not seen any other club interested in him.

He may still be able to offer something, that Lampard believes he can improve the team with, but like Benitez, Barkley is not welcome by a large number of supporters and that will not help the team nor Barkley.

In my opinion barkley has made no improvement since leaving everton. Playing with better quality players has not improved him as a player. Working with top managers couldn't get any consistency.

I don't see how this player will improve us. Forget he left, simply not good enough. There are better players around on a much reduced salary.

I must admit I was wrong about Barkley.

Whilst Koeman's "handling" of the situation was abject, and the whole thing turned into a farce in all aspects (and generated one of the largest TW threads), it seems we on the outside had not conclusively seen the decay of Barkley as a character.

I thought the situation could/should be saved, and that we were making a huge mistake. Nope.

A highly talented player that doesn't have the control of himself to apply it. Signing him now would be like signing Drinkwater.

Moyes in for Holgate according to rumours. They had a big signing from France lined up and he did his ankle in a friendly.

I'd actually rather see Keane leave personally, and I still fear/expect a late bid for Mina that'll be hard to resist. If we could get 㿀m though, and reinvest it in a Tobido or Becao and Colwill, I'd do it.

Moyes in for Holgate?

I'd personally carry him to London!

However Ross left the club, and cost us additional wages for staying while his injury was treated, and cost us a few million as well for the final transfer, Barkley is on a hiding to nothing.

Even from the very start of his career, I am struggling hard to think of any other player that became a fans' whipping boy more than Ross, in his time at Everton. If Holgate stays, he will be rubbing his hands if Barkley comes back.

Undecided on this one, if we cannot get anyone else, then I would certainly have him over Gomes or Davies.

All pure speculation, but I am 50/50 on this one, needs must if no other options.

He's crap.

Martin (#35); Thanks for clarifying.

Cheers.

In my opinion, we are looking for a ''Lee Carsley'' and a '' Mikel Arteta'', definitely not a "Ross Barkley".

Kieran at 82 -

Well said.

To be fair to Ross, he went to Chelsea, no issue there. He was ambitious and had the chance to play with better players than those at Everton. Won a trophy or two.

He went to Aston Villa and started off well with them, got injured with a hamstring injury and I think he struggled with his fitness after that and found it difficult to get back in the team.

He needs to play football somewhere, it's unlikely to be a Top 6 team.

Perhaps a more mature Ross Barkley would present a reasonably decent signing.

Ian,

While injured, he was spotted out and about several times pissed up, so no wonder he struggled for fitness. No signs he has matured, maybe the opposite. Sad, but his head's gone off track. There'd be even more opportunity for off-the-field problems if he returned to the city.

Really hoped he'd make it but it's over.

West Ham interested in Holgate. Good! They can have him.

On one of my visits back, I watched Barkley play. I think it was the 2-2 season opener against Watford in 2015, with a great strike from Barkley.

But my memory from that game is dominated by how bloody awful Barkley was when we didn't have the ball. It was like a comedic parody of a 12-year-old not knowing how to defend.

No thanks.

Would be a very strange one.

Lampard and Thelwell seem to be targeting players with good work rates and dependable personalities. Barkley would appear to fail on both counts.

The fans would be on his back from day 1 and i'm not sure how much he brings as footballer at this point having hardly featured last season.

Andrew @75, yes, a fair amount of jest in the comment but some truth too. We do a very unusually high proportion of our shopping in the Premier League compared with our competitors and, though some rumours are nonsense, the links to Cornet, Winks, Gibbs-White and Barkley clearly have something to them. And our purchases so far have Burnley and Wolves stamped all over them too. I don't doubt our scouts have a wider field of vision - but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Let's see what the club serves up next.

If Barkley comes back, will the mayor call the bizzies?

Smells of a teary Bill signing more than anything. Barkley had fallen out of favour at Chelsea when Lampard was at their helm and left on loan to Aston Villa later! So why would he want to bring him back to Everton!!!?

Why is Bill still the chairman? Get the fuck out!

Would love Ross back. He's just what we need.

Ah the paradox of professional soccer.

If he signs it'll be all warm and fluffy, bleeds blue, should never have left, etc.

Load of shite of course.

Talent in his feet not matched in his head but maybe this is his level.

Personally I'd hate it for the reasons above but also because I can't bear to watch him jog on the spot when we don't have the ball.

Possibly the most annoying thing I've seen on a football pitch is Ross Barkley playing “pass and receive” 4 or 5 times in the space of 10 seconds with a team mate.

Terrific for his stats on “accurate passes made”, but utterly useless in terms of moving the ball up or around the pitch.

Chelsea CEO: “Ready for the new season Thomas?”

Tuchel: “I think we are almost there. But this Barkley guy, he simply doesn't fit into my plans. It's like talking to a brick wall! But who the hell is daft enough to take him?!!”

Chelsea CEO: “Oh don't worry, I know just the man. One call to Sentimental FC is all it takes.”

Maybe he wants to come back so he can go on the town with his old mate Dele Alli.

Kenwright will be having orgasms – Gueye and Ross are coming back. Now for John and Paul and we'll have the band back together.

Jack, Kenwright having an orgasm is not the mental image I want at this time of night!

Not to happy but miles better than anything we have at the moment should have a few goals in him as well which we also need. So a yes just about from me.

Never ever go back it doesn't work in football.

Off the top of my head,

Curren (loan) king, Unsworth, Pienaar, Gomes (loan) Rooney

Never performed anywhere near the same level 2nd time around.

Barkley or his agent can surely get him a gig elsewhere. He wasn't very consistent first time. 3 years of getting splinters up his arse isn't going to have made him a better player. It's a no from me and also a no for Gueye back.

The French league is full of lads that work hard and break play up. Go and get one 10 years younger than Gueye instead of this poor backward looking step.

Never ever go back it doesn't work in football.

Off the top of my head,

Curren (loan) king, Unsworth, Pienaar, Gomes (loan) Rooney

Never performed anywhere near the same level 2nd time around.

Barkley or his agent can surely get him a gig elsewhere. He wasn't very consistent first time. 3 years of getting splinters up his arse isn't going to have made him a better player. It's a no from me and also a no for Gueye back.

The French league is full of lads that work hard and break play up. Go and get one 10 years younger than Gueye instead of this poor backward looking step.

No
With McNeil in we should move for other areas now.
Just if we don't bring anyone else but that would be a big if..

Barkley's last good season was seven years ago. Seven. When he was 21. He has utterly wasted the prime of his career and delivered nothing to anybody.

No.

I recall one of the England coaches saying of Barkley that it was sometimes a little difficult to explain to him exactly what was required...or words to that effect.

In other words he was as thick as pig shit.

It's a no from me!

Better off with Charles or Gnarls or the bank than Ross.

Aston Villa need to ask themselves '' What would Everton do in this situation?'' - and then sign Ross Barkley really really quickly!

Ross's biggest problem is his brain doesn't match his talent. Despite his obvious ability his lack of grey matter between the ears has always been his biggest disability.

Cut price deal, why not, I am surprised at the really anti comments on here.

As well as my thoughts on his coaching and development, I think Ross Barkley epitomises the fragility of the mindset that has plagued Everton for decades. Acceptance replacing winning mentality.

I can't remember exactly when, but I recall nice guy Jagielka (a Moyes and Kenwright disciple) putting his arm around Barkley and telling him not to listen to the crowd as it wasn't directed at him.

Unlike Jonjoe Kenny and Anthony Gordon, who took the lead in approaching a toxic crowd at times, ahead of more senior players, in the most difficult of seasons. Regardless of result or performance, they didn't shirk and looked us in the eye.

I think Ross has been wrapped in cotton wool, told he is special and believed it from a young age, which impacted his development.

I am clearly speculating, but just an impression I get.

My take on Barkley is that, sadly, he just isn't that good.

Brazil produces a lot of players like Barkley etc with great technique and the ability to do something stunning. Many of them can't defend, lose possession and have no sense of position within a team.

We don't question Brazilian coaching etc - we just see these as lesser players than those at top clubs who deliver consistently.

The real issue with British coaching is why we produce so few like Barkley (although it is getting a bit better).

Robert 111 sums it up for me

Danny @ 110. It was as they came off at half time during the 2016 FA Cup semi final vs Man Utd

I really do wonder who is driving this possibility of signing Barkley as I don't see much appetite from the majority of fans for this deal to be pursued. Also I don't see many other clubs showing an interest either, maybe they realize this is a player who hasn't played well for anybody for years.

Seems like this club over the last few years has lost its fan antennae, we signed Allardyce who was universally unpopular with the fans, resigned Rooney again a move that split the fan base, then committed the biggest mistake of all time by appointing Benitez, apart from a few we all knew this wouldn't end well. But still this club didnt seem to learn as the owner was prepared to replace Benitez with Pereira and only fan protests but a halt to that move. Now if rumours are correct we are to embark on another move that will split the fan base by bringing Barkley back to the club. Now I realize that you cant always pamper to fans wishes but surely you should at least listen to the reaction from your customers before embarking on another venture that will split the fan base.

We know the club through mis management have little money to spend and are having to rely on what would have been in normal circumstances 3rd or 4th choice players and also some loan players and those out of contract. But I think most of the fanbase would hope we steer clear of Barkley no matter how poor a financial position we are in.

Brian (114) I think, and hope, its just the usual lazy media linking a player with any past club. Seems to be Villa and ourselves being mentioned. I think his contract runs out in 2023 so maybe he'd prefer to sit on his arse for another year and try and get another fat signing on fee.

Mike 104 he has delivered on a regular basis, a barely deserved big fat cheque to his bank account every month.

I probably wouldn't have him back, but when he was here I always enjoyed watching him. Everyone knows his weaknesses, but in the mood he could do things most other players only dream about.

It would be nice to sing the song again. "Plays in midfield with our Doucoure".

Our current midfield is shocking and for that reason alone Barkley would walk into our first 11.

So yes why not.

Not for me, even with all our very obvious problems I think the club are good employers and gave young Barkley an excellent start to his football career. For his part he took advantage to run down his contract and leave.

His time at Chelsea has hardly been a success and now them want rid of him so he thinks we might welcome him back on big wages to finish his career.

I think he is a similar player to Gomes and we are trying to off load him. So I hope we look for someone with energy and ambition and not just another big pay day.

A midfield to choose from Gomes, Doucoure, Barkley, Gueye, Davies, Gbamin and Allan fills me with dread and foreboding for this coming season. Everton have to do better than this to have a decent season, because midfield is where is should be happening on the field, not in fantasy football off the pitch.

Mistakes can happen but the idea is to learn from them! This is Rafa mark 2 …. No when it suited him dumped on club during transfer, no not good enough or prospect, no resale value …no no no !!!!

This was the whiff of sentimental stupidity, so Kenwright's idea obviously.

This was the whiff of sentimental stupidity, so Kenwright's idea obviously.

He's better than Gomes. Probably about as good as we can expect. I watched the film Moneyball again last night and this pre-season smacks of Everton trying to build a team on a shoestring budget from cast-offs and punts.

The teary eye bullshitter instigating this move to bring home another 'Prodigal son' honestly just do one.

Three Chelsea players are in talks over permanent moves to Everton, according to Graeme Bailed of 90min.

Michy Batshuayi and Billy Gilmour look set to end their loan purgatory with a move, while Ross Barkley appears to be close to a return to Goodison Park.

It's not suggested that there's any sort of package deal taking place, just three separate moves for three players without a place in Thomas Tuchel's plans.

Frank Lampard taking over as manager at the Toffees was bound to create some traffic between the two clubs, but we certainly didn't expect three moves in one window.

It's easy to see what each of these players would add to a thin looking Everton squad. They barely avoided relegation last season, and have since lost their talisman Richarlison to Spurs.

They have yet to spend any significant money this summer, so we're not ruling out a triple move – although it seems a stretch for sure.

Barkley, Gana and Batshuayi do not meet the criteria of the kind of player we should be trying to attract. So, no thanks, no thanks and no thanks. Gilmour, I can live with him coming on board. He has something to prove and with good coaching he has the potential to improve.

I would take Batshuayi on the cheap. Yeah, he frustrates the hell out of every manager he plays for -- has a genius for missing sitters. But he also earns more chances than most strikers with his pace, strength and movement. The bottom line is he has proven productive, and we need a striker badly.

Batshuayi... Bovine behind and stringed instrument spring to mind. But beggars can't be choosers.

Now we are in allegedly in ‘advanced talks' with Chelsea for Ross Barkley. Hopefully it is a load of baloney that is staple for this time of year.

Chelsea are desperate to get his 96k per week off the wage bill, and we are lined up as the desperate suckers. At the very least make them take Gomes so we don't lose out. Or do you think Chelsea might not fancy taking the player we are desperately trying to offload from our own wage bill.

Ross Barkley is a player we don't need, just like they don't need our 100k pw white elephant, Gomes. We need a DCM and someone who scores goals. We can't be taking up any financial space on Ross Barkley.

Gilmour looks like a very good player for the longer term. Loan with option to buy would be brilliant. Could form part of a talented British core over a 5 to 10 year period with Branthwaite, Patterson, Gordon and McNeil. But, as I keep saying, he is more of a Xavi when we really need a Busquets.

Not sure what Barkley adds because his position(s) is / are covered by Alli, Gordon, Gray and now McNeil.

Batshuayi is better than Rondon because he is mobile. That's about it. But he'd only be cover. As Mike G says not a bad idea if he's very cheap - like £5m max cheap.

I'd ideally love us to sign a younger more talented player like Wahi of Montpellier or Kalimuendo of PSG or even Delap at Man City but Batshuayi might be the best we can realistically get.

Gilmour looks like a very good player for the longer term. Loan with option to buy would be brilliant. Could form part of a talented British core over a 5 to 10 year period with Branthwaite, Patterson, Gordon and McNeil. But, as I keep saying, he is more of a Xavi when we really need a Busquets.

Not sure what Barkley adds because his position(s) is / are covered by Alli, Gordon, Gray and now McNeil.

Batshuayi is better than Rondon because he is mobile. That's about it. But he'd only be cover. As Mike G says not a bad idea if he's very cheap - like £5m max cheap.

I'd ideally love us to sign a younger more talented player like Wahi of Montpellier or Kalimuendo of PSG or even Delap at Man City but Batshuayi might be the best we can realistically get.

If there is anyone up there looking down at us. Please don't let this happen. Kenshite out.

If Mick Hucknel is right about money too tight to mention, then of the players above linked, I would take Batshuayi if the price is right.

He should come back - we need a new toilet brush

No to Barkley from me. Whenever, I watched him on a live Chelsea game, he was just an insignificant ball carrier for the star players. The ball would go to Barkley, he runs a few yards and then feeds it to a much better player.

Chelsea never seemed to think Barkley was a part of the creative thinking play. Any goals he seemed to score were against lower division sides or easy rebounds! I also worry what effect he would have on the dressing room atmosphere!

According to teamtalk he is going to Villa.

I can't see Thelwell being interested in this unless the never-ending curse has his grubby dabs all over it. Let him do his job. Bit weird Villa back in for him though.

Well as I expected there has been a big NO from the majority on here which means exactly one thing as nobody in Goodison Towers listens to the fans or thinks anything through which means Barkley has already ordered his limo to make his grand entrance here once again.

I am, I hope, not having that nightmare again!!!

If he goes to Villa that would be odd.

And make for an interesting fixture in just over 2 weeks time.

Gerrard, Barkley and the dynamics of the O'Neill household.

Armageddon beckons.

Barkley, Batshuayi and Gilmour?

Not sure we can steer clear of FFP with this kind of recruitment as I'm sure they'd all want or expect whopping wages, but we'd be heading for a squad that would appear ‘on paper' and ‘on its day' to have some outstanding attacking ability.

Can't see it myself. Would be a massive gamble to take on Batshuayi and Barkley and we are already gambling on Gray, Rondon, Calvert-Lewin, and Alli to find their career-best form more than once in a blue moon, with Iwobi and Gordon also needing to build extensively on much improved performances last season.

Is there a genius plan capable of rehabilitating such a quantity of ‘flawed geniuses' (can they inspire each other?) or do our decision-makers have too much faith in the ‘prophetic' tales of Roy of the Rovers?

I'm working on a freshly embroidered continental quilt protest...complete with lavender...none of that painted Primark bed sheet nonsense!

"Non rien Barkley"

Sounds good But can Barkley read French?

Yippee. Not going to happen according to The Athletic

From what I've read, looks like the player was more keen on this than the club ever were, if at all. I wasn't vehemently opposed to the move but I'm relieved it looks like it's fallen through.

Anthony 130.
Belter that, pissing myself.

A player in decline, not wanted by a Top 6 club, on high wages, little resale value – Give him a massive contract, why not!

Same applies to Gueye. Haven't we been here before? No to both.

Frank might just be the right manager to get Ross back to his best. At his best he's a decent player. May have been very hard moving to London and being a small fish in a big pond.Coming home might be the making of him. If we could get him cheap I'd take the risk. He's a blue. This is not a job for the boys, he's potentially not peaked yet. Frank could ignite his career and get him firing on all cylinders

Did anyone ever work out what Barclays best position was/is?

I can remember a very talented footballer who never really seemed to fit anywhere properly. Bit like Rodwell. Hes not a striker or winger, not clever enough for no.10, not CM and not really box to box (albeit probably the closest given his skill set). Was just a general AMC without any real style of play. I'm not sure where he'd actually play if he did come back if we play 3 up top. Can imagine he'd be in CM.

Either way, he's absolutely not what we need and I'm hoping this is just lazy journalism as Chelsea want shut. Please use the spare wages elsewhere, we've had enough ‘returns of the prodigal son'.

Did anyone ever work out what Barkley's best position was or is?

I can remember a very talented footballer who never really seemed to fit anywhere properly. A bit like Rodwell.

He's not a striker or winger, not clever enough for No 10, not central midfielder, and not really box-to-box (albeit probably the closest given his skill set). Was he just a general AMC without any real style of play? I'm not sure where he'd actually play if he did come back if we play 3 up top. Can imagine he'd be in CM.

Either way, he's absolutely not what we need and I'm hoping this is just lazy journalism as Chelsea want shut. Please use the spare wages elsewhere, we've had enough ‘returns of the prodigal son'.

Sub Denis.

In all seriousness, I think that's the best he can offer particularly with 5 substitutes. He could create something in the last 10 minutes of games.

Is he better than the likes of Gomes? Absolutely. Is he likely to be bad influence on the likes of Gordon? Possibly. Can Everton have him and an Alli vying for the same position, and both somewhat damaged goods? For me, it doesn't stack up when we still have a goals and striker problem, but I think we will sign him.

Peter @147, we have many times. It stops the club evolving and moving with the times. I was screaming for us to sign Dion Dublin instead of resigning Dunc. One went onto score over 100 Premier League goals, and one scored approx 50 less. But what the hell... "He gets Everton!"

If there is even a smidgeon of truth in this, I would have thought after the Benitez debacle, it might be worth the club's while to take account of what the majority view of fans might be.

I sense he is as wanted as Benitez.

Quite correct, Tony, or you might say he is as wanted as a hole in the head.

As gutted as I was at the time Joe, I wasn't keen on taking Ferguson back. His time at Newcastle should have been a warning.

I never doubted Duncan's commitment or passion, but looking back his career was plagued by injury and ill-discipline. I know injury is not in the players' hands, but if he hadn't such an icon and fan's favourite, he would have received some of the criticism labelled at others who struggle with injury, including more recent examples such as Mina and Rodriguez.

Denis @151, don't. You'll put one of my scratched records on and people can really do without another of my repeated renditions.

Coaching. Something has not been right with the coaching at Finch Farm for years. You could arguably add poor Tom Davies to that list. Even Holgate. I still don't know where their best positions are.

I think Duncan Ferguson has had a great time at EFC without us getting a great forward in return. Andy Gray was a great forward for us in the time he was here. Not his fault but then I think it was the Chairman who wanted him back

Dion Dublin was a top player and I'm sure I read that Howard Kendall had to sell Peter Beagrie to make the funds available to buy Dion Dublin. Then the club failed to buy Dublin and Kendall resigned... that's if my memory has not played tricks again!

Jim, Yes that's roughly it with regards to Dion Dublin. Here's the saga from Howard himself ;

“The club was financially not too brilliant at that point, at the same time, because I was involved in all Board meetings and financial situations I knew how much money was available for me to spend.

Alex Ferguson didn't want to sell Dion Dublin because at that particular time they were in Europe and the English players were invaluable to him, though the rule's been relaxed since then. Dion was longer term and, OK, you agree a fee, and maybe you pay a little bit over the odds, but I spoke to my Chairman, I spoke to my Secretary, and we agreed the deal with Manchester Utd and agreed the method of payment as well.

Dion Dublin wanted to come to Everton; in fact he was desperate to come. This was the second time I'd tried to sign him, so when you talk about the racist thing, forget all about that because I tried to sign him from Cambridge.

The next morning, I went into the training ground and the Chairman, David Marsh, telephoned me and said: "I've been round with the Board of Directors and we don't like the Dublin deal - it's off, you can't go through with it".

So then I had to go through telephoning Alex Ferguson and telephoning the player to say sorry and that the Board had blocked the deal. I had a couple of days to think about it and I felt so strongly about it - maybe they had financial difficulties at the club, or whatever, but no one came and talked to me about that. In effect, they had told me I was no longer the manager of the football club because they'd blocked something I wanted to do.

I knew that we were capable of financing that deal or I wouldn't have entered into it in the first place. I just thought, watching Dion Dublin was similar to an Andy Gray situation, we weren't bad up to the penalty area but then we just needed something to happen. A big lad would have made it happen, I'm certain of that; it would have improved us, just like Andy did. We were putting quality in there, but who was on the end of it? Nobody, and I felt Dion Dublin would have taken care of that.

I'm so delighted, not for me for a pat on the back or anything, but that the lad has gone on and had a tremendous career.”

Thank you, Tony! Thanks for putting down the whole sorry saga of a betrayal of a great manager. Just what we missed because of that prissy shower useless gets we had on the Board then... bit like now!

Simon Jones @63 - "the romantic in me'

If you're that romantic you can just 'kiss my arse'

There is no way that this idea should be entertained. Barkley's had his chance at Everton – no more, no effin way Jose.

BBC reporting that this one isn't a runner.

Aye Shane, "It is understood, however, there is no interest in Everton re-signing fellow former midfielder Ross Barkley, who is currently at Chelsea." Phew!!