New Everton manager Sam Allardyce has said he wants to keep England midfielder Ross Barkley at Goodison Park.
Barkley, who came close to joining Chelsea and was also heavily linked with Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, is out of contract at the end of the season.
Although the 23-year-old had a dramatic change of heart over a move to Stamford Bridge after Chelsea had agreed a fee of around £35 million, reports suggest Spurs could attempt to sign him in January.
But speaking to Sky Sports, Allardyce said: "I'd like to think we can keep Barkley, unless somebody's already done a deal for him.
"I am not daft enough to know in this game that those words and phone calls might not have already gone on.
"If we could get Ross Barkley to stay then nobody would be more delighted than me. Whether that is a possibility I do not know."
Barkley has not featured for Everton since the end of last season, having suffered a hamstring injury in preseason.
Allardyce added: "For me it's about getting him back in the squad first and seeing where we are from there."
Source: espn.co.uk