Bengaluru, September 5: English midfielder Joey Barton has offered an interesting thought into why Everton midfielder Ross Barkley's proposed move to Chelsea on transfer deadline day fell through.
The English midfielder who is now suspended because of a betting issue has stated that Barkley purportedly declined to sign for Chelsea in light of the fact that he couldn't address Blues manager Antonio Conte on deadline day as the Italian had his telephone turned off.
Everton had reportedly accepted an offer for the 23-year-old before the midfielder made a trip to London to finalise the deal and was set for a medical in the final hours of the window.
However, it was later reported that the England international declined the move and opted to remain at Merseyside for the time being at least till January.
Later Barkley dismissed the reports on his social media account claiming that all these rumours are nonsense as he never went for a medical to Chelsea's Cobham training ground.
Contrary to a number of reports in the press, I did not undertake a medical with any club at any point.
— Ross Barkley (@RBarkley20) September 2, 2017
I simply decided that due to my injury, it would be best to make a decision on my future and assess all my options in January when fully fit
— Ross Barkley (@RBarkley20) September 2, 2017
Thanks for all of the support.
— Ross Barkley (@RBarkley20) September 2, 2017