According to the Telegraph, Chelsea alongside Premier League rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring Everton midfielder Ross Barkley. (Again. Still.) The report claims that Spurs are considering making a bid for Barkley in January.
Barkley's current contract, signed in 2014, is set to expire in 18 months, but he has struggled to build a good rapport with current Everton manager Ronald Koeman. His form on the pitch has dropped, and so Tottenham are hoping that a bid in the winter transfer window will convince the Toffees to let go of the 23-year-old.
However, Spurs' hopes could dented by interest from Chelsea and Arsenal — the Blues in particular are believed to have been following Barkley's development for some time now — not to mention Barkley’s reported intent to try to win back his place in Koeman’s starting eleven.
Should those good intentions now work out however, a bit of a bidding war in the summer should not be ruled out. Barkley’s certainly an interesting (and homegrown!) name, though Chelsea would have to be careful to not pay over the odds for him.