Former Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton has claimed that Ross Barkley's failed deadline-day move to Chelsea was down to Blues boss Antonio Conte.
Barkley is into the final 12 months of his current deal with Everton and was pursued by both the Premier League champions and Tottenham Hotspur over the course of the summer.
The midfielder looked set to complete a £35m transfer to Stamford Bridge last week, only for Barkley to mysteriously pull out of the deal at the last moment.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Barton said: "I heard a really interesting thing about what happened with the Ross Barkley transfer. Conte turned his phone off and Barkley's representatives were trying to contact him.
"He wanted to say 'look, where am I going to play', and Conte turned his phone off. That is why Barkley got cold feet and never signed.
"He thought, 'well, if the manager isn't answering the phone to me he clearly doesn't want me', and that is why he went back to Everton."
Reports have now suggested that Barkley will instead opt for a move to Spurs when the transfer window reopens in January.
Neil Wilkes
