Ross Barkley has been a positive influence at Aston Villa since joining on a season-long loan from Chelsea and could be open to turning his move permanent before the campaign comes to a close.
The 27-year-old was out of favour under Frank Lampard and found himself behind Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, but Football.London’s Sam Inkersole told Birmingham Live that Lampard’s sacking might open the door to a return.
Thomas Tuchel is now Chelsea manager and has given players on the periphery a chance to prove their worth, so Inkersole thinks there might be a chance for Barkley to save his Chelsea career.
He said: “(Thomas) Tuchel seems to want to give all of the players a chance and to bring them in from the cold – just look at Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta – so you can’t say for certain that a permanent signing for Barkley for Villa would be a go-er.”
The new Blues boss doesn’t have a history of using No.10s like Barkley, however. At Paris Saint-Germain (2018-2020), he preferred a 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 formation, as his most creative players were inside forwards such as Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria. At Borussia Dortmund (2015-2018), he mostly opted for a 4-1-4-1 formation and 4-3-3.
Inkersole added: “In terms of how (Tuchel’s) set up, he’s not really gone with a number ten. Mason Mount has probably been the midfielder that has been getting furthest forward, but he went with two strikers against Burnley at the weekend with Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham.”
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Barkley is a creative midfielder who likes to take players on and get shots at goal, averaging 2.5 shots and 1.2 successful dribbles per game this season. He’s not somebody who tracks back and turns over possession frequently (only 0.2 tackles and 0.4 interceptions per game), highlighting why Dean Smith uses John McGinn and Douglas Luiz in a holding role behind him, so Tuchel might not want a luxury player.
In turn, that could give the Claret and Blues a great chance of keeping him at Villa Park.
Barkley is benefitting from regular game-time while away from Chelsea, but his future will depend on whether Tuchel wants to look at him over the summer or stick with Havertz and Mount. If the new manager doesn’t have a place for the 26-year-old in west London, Villa could then have a good chance of signing the £30m-valued man.
