Tottenham and Chelsea not put off by Ross Barkley injury in race for Everton midfielder

Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea remain interested in signing Ross Barkley before the transfer window shuts, despite the fact he faces three months on the sidelines.

Barkley has been ruled out for three months after tearing a hamstring in training with Everton and is expected to undergo surgery.

The timing of the injury could not be worse for Barkley, who has entered the final 12 months of his Everton contract.

Tottenham and Chelsea had stepped up their bid to sign Barkley in the last week, but the midfielder’s injury raised question marks over whether or not the two clubs would continue to pursue their interest.

Both Spurs and Chelsea, however, have implied they are still willing to negotiate a deal to sign Barkley before the transfer window closes in a fortnight, although it remains to be seen if they will still be prepared to pay around £25 million.

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Tottenham and Chelsea felt Barkley could represent the bargain of the summer in the current transfer market and were attracted by the 23-year-old’s potential to improve as much as his ability to make an immediate impact.

Both clubs had been waiting for Everton to complete the signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson before launching bids for Barkley, with Spurs banking a 10 per cent sell-on fee, £4.5m, of the £45m deal.

The fact Barkley will be missing for three months is a blow, but does not change the opinion of Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino or Chelsea that he could prove to be a superb long-term signing.

Spurs are also aware that they risk missing out on the player completely if they do not move this month and he moves on a Bosman deal next summer, when clubs will offer him big salaries.

Barkley’s home-grown status also remains highly valuable to Tottenham and Chelsea, who are combining Premier League and Champions League campaigns this season.

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It is understood that Barkley went down clutching a leg during a training session and had to be helped from the field. James McCarthy, who is also hoping to leave Everton, suffered a similar hamstring injury in the same session.

On Barkley, Everton manager Ronald Koeman said: “He stopped training on Monday, it looks like the hamstring. But we need to do more tests to know exactly what the injury is.”

On Barkley’s future, Koeman added: “I will wait until the end of August.”

Other than continuing to pursue Barkley, Tottenham remain in the hunt for Celta Vigo midfielder Pape Cheikh Diop. Lyon have made a bid over £9m for 20-year-old Diop, which is more than Spurs were hoping to pay, but the player is believed to favour a move to White Hart Lane.

A Chelsea move for Barkley is in addition to their bid to sign Danny Drinkwater, who Leicester City want £40m for.