Friday 22 December 2017 15:00, UK
Ross Barkley's future is in his own hands, says Sam Allardyce, with the Everton boss revealing the midfielder is expected to return in January.
Allardyce has previously spoken of his wish to keep the 24-year-old, whose contract at Goodison Park runs out in the summer, but says a deal for him to leave may already have been agreed.
Barkley was on the brink of joining Chelsea on Deadline Day in August after the clubs agreed a £35m fee for the England international, but he u-turned on the move in the last moments of the window.
Everton have been without the midfielder since he sustained a hamstring injury during pre-season, but after participating in a behind-closed-doors friendly this week, he could return for the Toffees in the New Year.
"If everything [his recovery] continues the way it is, early January," said Allardyce.
When asked about the midfielder's future, he said: "I don't think it's in our hands at the minute, it's in Ross' hands I think.
"He knows the door is open if he wants to talk about staying.
"It's never going to be the case where the door is going to be shut, it's always going to be open.
"Whether he chooses that route or not will determine what happens. Who knows in January?"
Everton have won three of their last four games, including a 1-1 draw away to rivals Liverpool, and find themselves nine points adrift of the top four but Allardyce has urged his players not to rest on their laurels ahead of Saturday's game against Chelsea, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Asked whether Everton are in a position to relax yet, he said: "Not at all. There's 20 games to go and 20 games where we have to try and continue our run of being undefeated if that's possible and to try and pick up as many points as we can.
"There's no room for complacency, I said that before the Swansea game, we certainly saw that with our first-half performance when we nearly came in at one-nil down and we had not played that well," said Allardyce.
"There's still a long way for us to develop and play and get better. While the results have been the most important thing and made us very comfortable, our performances I hope are going to improve week in, week out.
