Ross Barkley wouldn’t get into the Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur side, according to former Everton centre-back Alan Stubbs.

Barkley is now in the final year of his contract, and can start to think about joining a new club for free next summer. The 23-year-old hasn’t made an appearance for Everton this season, and Alan Stubbs thinks he’ll be moving on in one of the next two windows, reports the Daily Star.

“Do I think he’ll stay? Probably not, it’s looking like we’ll lose him, whether that’s in January or he runs his contract out until the end of the season,” he said. Arsenal and Tottenham have been two of the highest profile clubs linked with signing the 23-year-old, but Stubbs thinks Barkley would struggle to get into either side.

“I saw that Tottenham wanted him over the summer and I can see why they like him, but I can’t see Ross displacing Dele Alli. You look at Arsenal, could he replace Ozil, Ramsey, Sanchez? Is he going to play ahead of them? Probably not. Ross’ next move is one that will be crucial to his career and his development.”

If the Gunners signed Barkley in the winter window, and Ozil and Alexis stuck around, then it’s hard for me to say that the midfielder would be any more likely to find a place in the side than he will with Everton.

Of course, it’s looking more and more like the pair could leave North London next summer, which could change the picture. With Mesut gone, Wilshere could well move forward into the wide-forward position he’s been playing in the Europa League, which would open up a space in the midfield rotation.

But even then, Barkley would be competing with Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka, two players of a similar age to the Englishman, with more experience playing at the top level domestically, in Europe and for Arsène Wenger.

The story wouldn’t be too dissimilar at Spurs, so I’d recommend Barkley think carefully about his next choice of club.