Ross Barkley will be offered a new contract by Everton at the end of the season as Roberto Martinez wants to continue building a team around the coveted starlet, according to the Guardian.
Barkley, 22, has 11 goals and 7 assists for the Blues this season, and turned in a superb performance against a struggling Newcastle outfit on Wednesday, as Everton trotted to their first home league win since November.
Roberto Martinez had this to say on his star’s contract situation:
We will probably look at it in the summer.
As I’ve said before, Ross is not a young man any more. He’s a player you can build a project on.
When you want to build a project it is about a player who wants to play for Everton and wants to take that role.
It is one thing as a manager wanting to do something, if the player doesn’t feel the same way then you cannot do it.
The powerful midfielder, who is enjoying the best season of his career, has two-and-a-half years left on his current deal at Goodison Park, and Roberto Martinez is keen to tie down the much-admired-international to a long-term deal.
Ross Barkley isn’t the only Everton player who is set for a new deal, Muhamed Besic is set for a bumper new contract after reaching 25 Premier League appearances, while Bryan Oviedo is set to extend his stay on Merseyside for at least another year.
But Barkley is Martinez’s main focus at the moment and as ever, the Catalonian was quick to lavish praise on his ‘diamond’.
I’ve just seen a big difference this season in Ross.
Before it was all about trying to give him information and make him a type of a player.
This season has been very different because he’s the one who wants clarifications and is asking for the information he needs. It shows he has the confidence he needs.
