Everton boss David Moyes remains hopeful of securing Ross Barkley to a new contract.
Moyes saw Wayne Rooney leave for Manchester United in August 2004 when he was 18 but while Everton now have superior squad, the manager knows the circumstances are not so straightforward.
"Every club will want Ross as he is going to be an outstanding player," said Moyes of Barkley, who is already an England Under-21 international. "I'm worried it will be a difficulty for us in the future.
"If someone comes for Ross I've always said it it's expensive to buy off Everton. If you're going to come and try to take our better players we don't sell cheap, that's for sure.
"I'm sure the bigger clubs will be looking at him, but we've no intention of selling. I think we've got the team to carry Ross. The club is in a much better position (than with Rooney).
"Can we carry someone like Ross now? Of course we can. Maybe when we had Wayne I didn't think we could hang onto someone of that talent, at that period."