Everton midfielder Ross Barkley given fresh reminder over contract situation

Ronald Koeman’s Everton slumped to back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time this season after going down 1-0 at Swansea on Saturday.

The Toffees would have been hoping to bounce back from their disappointing loss to Chelsea the week before with an improved display at the Liberty Stadium, but a Fernando Llorente goal punished a lethargic performance from the visitors to secure the Swans an important three points.

Midfielder Ross Barkley was dropped to bench ahead of their clash with Paul Clement’s men, and further comments from his manager Koeman on Thursday has placed his future at Goodison Park into even greater doubt.

The England international has still yet to agree a new contract with the Merseyside outfit, and with his current one due to expire at the end of next season, Dutchman Koeman in his pre-match press conference (via Sky Sports) has reinforced his message that the club will sell him if he doesn’t put pen to paper on a new deal.

He said: ‘Still one week, time for him to decide.

‘The board is working a long time for Ross to stay for a long period. It’s up to the player but we don’t wait until August.

‘We need an answer if he will accept the contract or we sign a player. If he leaves it so long you have doubts. I like to work with players who want to stay.’

It’s clear that Koeman is getting a little frustrated at Barkley’s indecision, especially given that the 23-year-old was informed earlier in the campaign that no new deal would result in a sale this summer.

Nonetheless, it appears increasingly likely that Barkley will move on this summer, but where he’ll move to very much remains to be seen.