Everton manager Roberto Martinez has sensationally claimed he wouldn't sell Ross Barkley even if a world transfer record bid came in for the starlet, according to the Mirror. The hands-off warning comes as Martinez prepares himself for inevitable interest in the 20-year-old when the January transfer window swings open next week. Barkley's stock rose again at the weekend when he scored a superb free-kick against Swansea to temporarily propel his side into the top four, with Chelsea and both Manchester clubs thought to be keen. But not even a bid close to the £85 million Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale this summer will be enough to persuade the Toffee's to sell, according to Martinez' bold claim. Even if we got a Gareth Bale-size valuation we would never even consider it in January, the Spaniard insisted.
Ross is an icon for us. He represents everything we are trying to do this season, so even if a stupid offer arrived in January it would never, never affect us. It is important for us as a football club to show we are making the right football decisions. There is no question mark over Ross future, he is in the best moment of his time and is everything we want a player to represent at Everton. There is not even a question mark against whether he is going to be here in February or not.
Despite Martinez's claims, the ex-Wigan boss is not naive enough to believe Barkley will be at Goodison Park forever. The more the midfielder develops his game, the more likely it is he will one day end up playing for one of the European powerhouses. But, crucially, Martinez believes Everton are now in a position to control when the transfer eventually happens, and will not be dictated to on the matter. He explained:
You need to understand that you cannot fight against the trend of the modern game. You saw it with Gareth Bale, with Ronaldo; that is the nature of the modern game. What is very important is that if anything happens, it is our club that dictates how and when. If we had a financial problem or were facing a financial disaster then we would not be in control of those aspects and I would be telling you Look, we are in the lap of the Gods. "We are not in that situation at all. We are probably in the strongest financial position we have been for a long, long time.
Crucially for Everton, Barkley himself is a committed Toffee's fan, born and raised in Wavertree, Liverpool, and has previously stated he believes he is in the right place to continue his development. For now.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
