Burnley vs Everton: Ross Barkley has no buy-out clause in his contract, reveals Roberto Martinez

The England international agreed a four-year deal over the summer, but that has not stopped other clubs showing interest

Ross Barkley would command a sky-high price if City were to rekindle their interest (Getty)

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has revealed that Ross Barkley did not have a buy-out clause inserted the contract he signed in the summer.

The England international agreed a four-year deal at the end of July, understood to be worth £120,000 a week.

Speculation has persisted that Barkley is a target for Manchester City and Chelsea. While the 20-year-old was out with a knee injury last month, reports claimed both clubs are ready to test Everton’s resolve to hang on to the highly-rated youngster.

It had been suggested that Barkley’s contract had a specific clause which would allow him to leave provided a certain figure was met by a potential buyer. But ahead of Everton’s lunchtime match with Burnley at Turf Moor, Martinez has confirmed that no such clause exists in the deals that Barkley and promising centre-back John Stones signed.

“There are no buyout clauses in any of the contracts,” Martinez said. “The only one was with Marouane [Fellaini] and that wasn’t triggered, so it didn’t matter.

“All the speculation and talk is positive. Because you don’t get any of that when your players are not playing well or they haven’t got potential.

“I’d rather have lots of teams showing interest in our players because we don’t have to be forced to do things that we don’t want.”

Martinez believes the financial situation at Goodison Park today is significantly different from a decade ago when the club’s previous prodigious young star, Wayne Rooney, left for Manchester United.

“Now at Everton, every decision is going to be a football decision,” Martinez said.