West Ham are weighing up a move to sign Ross Barkley from Chelsea but could face competition from Celtic for his signature this summer.
That’s according to a report from 90Min who claim that Chelsea are keen to move the 28-year-old on from Stamford Bridge, with just 12 months remaining on his current deal.
READ…Report: West Ham now want to sign ‘outstanding’ Premier League midfielder before D-day
Chelsea paid around £15 million to sign Barkley from Everton in January 2018 (The Times).
And now West Ham and Celtic are allegedly trying to prise him away from West London.
Chelsea actually offered Barkley to the Hammers last month.
However, it is Celtic who have reportedly made the first official move to acquire his signature.
It appears as though the race is still very much on though…
West Ham and Celtic in for Ross Barkley
The 28-year-old Chelsea midfielder is on the radars of both the Hammers and the Hoops according to a report from 90Min.
We believe that West Ham should just let Celtic have Barkley. He’s far too injury prone for what Moyes is trying to build at the London Stadium. He’ll be 29 later this year as well.
He made just six Premier League appearances for Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel last season, with only one of those a start (Transfermarkt).
Barkley earns £96k-a-week at Stamford Bridge (Spotrac). And it was recently reported that Chelsea could demand as much as £30 million for Barkley (The Express & Star).
This is one that we need to steer well clear of and it’s a good thing that Celtic appear to be pushing ahead with their interest in his signature.
If David Moyes is interested in signing Barkley, someone needs to get in his ear, and fast.
Since the start of the 2017/18 campaign, Barkley has missed 322 days of action and 64 games through injury (Transfermarkt).
During that period of time, the 28-year-old has bagged only 14 goals and 12 assists in 125 games. He has won the Europa League with Chelsea but his time so far in West London has to go down as a failure.
Barkley was an incredibly exciting young talent when he burst onto the scene at Goodison Park as a teenager a decade ago.
Unfortunately for him though, he has never realised his true potential and his time with Chelsea has been a long and arduous struggle.
We don’t think West Ham should be going anywhere near Ross Barkley.
Having said that, it would be no surprise off the Hammers do try to sign him this summer. He is represented by Wasserman – the football agency where David Moyes’s son once worked. They also represent West Ham midfielder Flynn Downes.
Let’s just hope that Moyes looks elsewhere this summer. Barkley would be a disastrous addition in my opinion.
Read other West Ham news:
Moyes reportedly wants to sign Chelsea star with 33 int’l caps
‘Multiple bids for multiple players’: West Ham insider shares hugely exciting transfer claim