Everton’s Ross Barkley snubbed a deadline day move to Chelsea but has moved to rubbish reports suggesting that he underwent a medical at Stamford Bridge.
The England international travelled to London on Thursday to discuss a potential switch to the reigning Premier League champions.
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A £35 million deal was believed to be close, but the 23-year-old eventually decided against completing a switch at this stage.
Barkley has now sought to clarify his decision, pointing out that he never passed a physical examination with the Blues and that he intends to reassess the issue of his future in January.
Barkley was expected to be on the move before the summer deadline passed after taking the decision not to discuss an extended stay at Everton.
Toffees boss Ronald Koeman admitted in July: “We made a really good offer to him to sign a new contract, he declined that contract and told me that he is looking for a new challenge.
“Okay, he is not in Everton’s future any more. It is his decision. I need to respect that and see what happens.”
Along with Chelsea, fellow title hopefuls Tottenham were also heavily linked with an approach for the highly-rated playmaker.
The Blues ultimately made the biggest effort to bring him on board, but they will now have to wait until the New Year before launching a fresh raid.
Barkley will have entered the final six months of his contract by then, which could see his asking price fall.
For now, the Everton academy graduate needs to work on getting fully fit and putting himself in the best possible position to find regular game time at some stage this season, with inclusion in England’s squad for the 2018 World Cup still the ultimate goal.
