Peter Reid says Everton did the right thing by trying to offload Ross Barkley in the summer.

But the Toffees legend insists the club should only be focused on getting the 23-year-old back on the pitch.

Former manager Ronald Koeman tried to sell Barkley, who is out of contract at the end of the season, following his refusal to sign a contract extension. He came close to joining Chelsea on deadline day after the clubs agreed upon of a fee of £35m.

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri stated publicly that Barkley had undergone a medical at Chelsea's training facility before deciding against the move, which Barkley denied shortly after, citing his injury problems as the reason for him withdrawing from the deal. The midfielder has been injured ever since.

With everyone looking for a fresh start, Reid believes that all parties should be focusing on getting Barkley injury-free to open up their options in January.

"If he's not going to sign a new deal, you've got to [try and sell him]," Reid told Tribalfootball.

"He's coming to end of his contract, if he turned down the Everton offer, in modern football, that means he wants to go. The Chelsea deal fell through, his injured at the moment, but the best thing for everyone, for Ross and for Everton, is to get him on the football pitch."

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Peter Reid has a new book out titled: Cheer Up Peter Reid: My Autobiography - you can purchase it by clicking on the link here.