Chelsea plan fresh attempt to pursue Premier League midfielder

Premier League holders Chelsea will reportedly make a fresh attempt to sign Everton's Ross Barkley during the January transfer window.

The England international has made good progress on his hamstring issue, and he is likely to retain full fitness before the turn of the year.

According to The Mail, the Blues are prepared to return for Barkley despite the Englishman turning down their advances last summer. The Toffees had finalised a £35m for the attacker's switch to Stamford Bridge, but the 24-year-old snubbed the move on deadline day to focus on his recovery from a muscular problem.

Barkley, who has less than seven months on his Toffees contract, is expected to return to first-team action in a fornight's time, and it is suggested that the Blues could potentially face competition from Tottenham Hotspur with Mauricio Pochettino keen to integrate more English talent in his highly-talented squad.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has indirectly hit out at the club's hierarchy on several occasions this term, and last weekend's defeat to West Ham United triggered a similar complaint after he stressed that the he cannot feature the same players in every game during the festive period.