Wayne Rooney urges Everton teammate to stay at the club

Everton's new signing Wayne Rooney has urged Ross Barkley to stay put at Goodison Park this summer.

The 23-year-old has snubbed a fresh Toffees contract, and this has heightened speculation over his future in recent weeks. Barkley showcased some of his old form during the previous campaign, but his reluctance to sign a new contract beyond 2018 has put the Toffees in a tough situation in the transfer window.

Ronald Koeman's side are demanding at least £50m for the midfielder's sale, and this has put off a host of clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, who are deemed to value the player at around £30m. Barkley is desperate to make a push further in his career where he would get the chance to win some silverware, but Rooney believes Everton are still good enough to keep hold of his services.

He told The Express: "With the ability that Ross has, of course we all want him to be a part of what we're trying to achieve at Everton. He can help us get better but the decision about his future is down to him.
I'm sure he will speak to the manager and do what's right for him."

The Merseyside outfit have stressed the need to improve the overall outlook of the squad of the squad after having recruited the likes of Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford, who excelled with Burnley and Sunderland respectively last season. Arsenal's Theo Walcott is another that has propped up their shortlist while the club are close to sealing a club-record move for Swansea City attacker Gylfi Sigurdsson.

With the signings made this summer, Koeman will have his sights set on the Champions League places next season while the club will also hope to make significant progress in the Europa League starting from the third qualifying round which starts later this month.