Everton FC prospect Ross Barkley to sign a new five-year deal next week after celebrating his 18th birthday

Dec 10 2011 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo

EVERTON expect Ross Barkley to sign a new five-year deal next week after celebrating his 18th birthday.

The England Under-21 midfielder turned 18 on Monday, and his agent is currently finalising terms with the Blues, who are keen to tie him down for the long term to ward off Manchester United and Chelsea.

Barkley, who has made five appearances so far this season, agreed his first professional deal shortly after his 17th birthday but could only sign for two-and-a-half years.

He can now put pen to paper on a longer contract, and Everton have long had plans in place to secure his future.

But while Barkley could yet be involved against Arsenal at the Emirates today, David Moyes must do without Jack Rodwell, who has suffered a hamstring injury.

The 20-year-old had only just recovered from a rib complaint, and made his comeback from the bench against Stoke last Sunday, but must now undergo a scan to determine the severity of his hamstring strain.

And Victor Anichebe remains unavailable, after suffering complications in his rehabilitation from a serious groin injury.

Moyes hopes to have Louis Saha back in contention after he missed the defeat by Stoke with a thigh strain, and still believes Tim Cahill will get back on the goal trail soon.

He said: “Tim has had a long, hard stint. Going with Australia to the Asian Cup has had an effect on him. He had scored nine goals before Christmas last year, and I think the tournament may have been one too much for him.

“I don’t want him to stop playing for Australia, as we recognise how big he is out there.

“He’ll get his goals, he’ll come back. Most season he scores somewhere between eight and 10 goals and I’d still expect him to score that. Physically he is right, but he is getting older. But that happens to all of us, doesn’t it?

Moyes knows his side must improve their attacking edge after lacklustre recent shows if they are to get anything against Arsene Wenger’s men today.

“The effort (against Stoke) was good but I expect that and don’t judge it on that. We didn’t have any shots on target and didn’t score a goal.

“We had 36 crosses in the game, I don’t think we’ve ever had more. We had over 400 passes and Stoke had only 140. But the only stat that wins you games is scoring goals, and we couldn’t do that.

“There were lots of things that indicated we were heading towards victory, but I can’t and won’t hide behind anything else – we just couldn’t score the goals.

“We didn’t have Louis, but we’ve been saying for a while we have been short. We are happy to play Tolos, we’re happy with what he’s been doing from that bench. If he keeps it going, he might end the season with six Premier League goals and wouldn’t that be great for a 19-year-old’s first season?

“We need someone to give us the rest of the goals and we are putting the players out we believe can do that.”