David Unsworth has revealed he plans to hold talks with Ross Barkley over his Everton future.
Barkley is in the final year of his contract at Goodison Park, having turned down a new deal in the summer under erstwhle manager Ronald Koeman.
The midfielder came close to leaving the club in the previous transfer window, seeing a deadline day move to Chelsea collapse at the eleventh hour.
Everton will be powerless to stop Barkley negotiating with overseas clubs under the Bosman ruling if a new agreement cannot be reached by January.
However, following the departure of Koeman on Monday, it has been suggested that Barkley may be persuaded to perform a U-turn on his future.
And interim manager Unsworth says he intends to sit down with the Wavertree-born player and try to convince him to remain at his boyhood club.
He said: “I spoke to him this morning and he’s working hard and coming along nicely in his recovery.
“My opinion of Ross is that I would love him to stay, I would absolutely love him to stay.
“He’s a top talent, Everton has done great for him and he’s done great for Everton.
“He could be one of the all-time greats here and I would love for him to be persuaded by myself, the chairman, by Farhad (Moshiri) to stay and sign a contract.
“We shouldn’t be losing players of his quality. He’s a top player and he’s a great player that’s come through are ranks.
“I feel very strongly that we shouldn’t be losing our own players.
“I’ve not spoken to him since but I will be doing. I would love him to sit down with me, have a cup of tea and discuss the possibility of signing and staying.
“We love him and I know he loves Everton as well. So I want everybody to come together and thrash something out.”