Everton manager Sam Allardyce has admitted that he expects Ross Barkley to sign for one of the ‘big boys’ in this current transfer window.

Barkley was sought after by both ?Chelsea and ?Tottenham in the summer, however a deal for the midfielder failed to materialize. The midfielder is in the final few months of his contract after he ??reportedly refused to sign an extension back in May of last year.

Speaking ahead of ?Everton’s FA Cup clash with Liverpool on Friday night, Allardyce admitted that he doesn’t expect Barkley to stay and that the Englishman could well move in the January window, as reported by the ?Liverpool Echo.

“I think that we are resigned and the club was resigned before I got here that we’re going to lose Ross and I can’t see that changing,” said Allardyce.

“I expect there would be some interest some time in this window if there’s going to be any interest from one of the big boys.”

West Ham United v Everton - Premier League

Barkley has been injured for the entire campaign so far, and Allardyce claimed that even though the player is back in training, he insisted that the midfielder will need time to get back to his best after a long spell out.

“He’s back in training full-time,” added Allardyce.

“It’s a little bit like James McCarthy and Yannick Bolasie. When he comes back the touch won’t be quite as good as it used to be and the match fitness won’t be quite as good as it used to be.

“Like James and like Yannick and Seamus and Leighton we’ll have to suffer that until we get them back up to speed. We’ve had a lot of injuries. Unfortunately we’re top of the league for the wrong reason and we need to address that one.”

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