(GUARDIAN) - Ross Barkley is due to have a medical at Chelsea on Friday (Jan 5) ahead of a proposed £15 million (S$26.9 million) transfer from Everton.
The Everton midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season and new manager Sam Allardyce admitted on Thursday that the club is resigned to losing its homegrown talent, who has rejected offers to extend his stay at Goodison Park.
Chelsea renewed their approach to Everton after seeing a deadline day move for the 24-year-old collapse in the summer.
The two clubs then agreed a £35 million fee and Barkley discussed personal terms with the Premier League champions in August, only to request for more time to consider the deal as he recovered from a serious hamstring injury.
That delay looks likely to cost Barkley's boyhood club £20 million in transfer revenue although Everton risk losing the England international for nothing in the summer and will reluctantly accept a cut-price move.
Barkley has been at Everton since he was 11, having been spotted by the club's late former scout Sid Benson, and has made 150 Premier League appearances.
His future was thrown into doubt during Ronald Koeman's reign as Everton manager, with the Dutch coach regularly criticising him in public and the player then stalling over a contract extension.
Koeman's immediate replacement, David Unsworth, and permanent successor Allardyce both hoped a change in management would encourage Barkley to recommit to Everton but that has not materialised.
He has not featured this season due to his recovery from hamstring surgery but returned to first-team training over the festive period.
Elsewhere at Merseyside rivals Liverpool, Juventus are confident they will be able to sign Emre Can on a free transfer in the summer, with the Serie A champions having offered the Germany international a five-year contract worth £85,000/week and a sizeable signing-on fee.
The 23-year-old is out of contract at the end of the 2017-18 season and has been unable to agree a new deal with Liverpool.
The midfielder is wanted by a host of top European clubs but Juventus believe they have stolen a march on everyone else and that a deal will be concluded soon.
The Turin club has held positive talks with Can's representatives with the player seeking reassurances of how he fits in to Max Allegri's plans.
Can joined Liverpool for £9.75 million in 2014 after the Reds met the buy-out clause in his contract with Bayer Leverkusen.
He has won 20 caps for Germany, having made his debut in September 2015.
Juventus were interested in signing Can in January but were told by Liverpool that there was no chance of that happening.
Jurgen Klopp's side have already signed a central midfielder for next season with Naby Keita arriving from RB Leipzig for a fee in the region of £55m.
