Aston Villa signs Chelsea’s Ross Barkley on Loan. The 26-year old former Everton player has made three appearances for the Blues this season.
However, Barkley was part of the Chelsea squad that exited the Carabao Cup on penalties at Tottenham on Tuesday night, although he was not brought off the bench by Frank Lampard
An Aston Villa statement read ” Aston Villa is delighted to announce the signing of Ross Barkley on a season-long loan from Chelsea”
Villa manager Dean Smith said. ” Capturing player of Ross’s quality is a real coup for our club and I am certain he will thrive here and improve our team”
Villa head coach Dean Smith told the club website: ” Capturing a player of Ross’s quality is a real coup for our club and I am certain he will thrive here and improve our team”
Aston Villa have made a strong start to the season, winning all four of their matches so far, and Barkley’s arrival will boost a midfield that already boasts the talents of Jack Grealish, John McGinn, and Conor Hourihane
For a long time at Everton, Barkley was considered one of the England Brightest prospects, being compared to Paul Gascoigne
A lot of Blues fans weren’t huge Barkley fans, but equally, they are amazed to see the squad weakened on the eve of the season.
Barkley is Villa fifth signing of the window, following the arrivals of Ollie Watkins, Bertrand Traore, Emiliano Martines, and Matty Cash
He leaves Chelsea having scored 11 goals and assisted a further 11 and 86 appearances
Chelsea Opens to Ross Barkley exit as Aston Villa Target Loan Deal
Chelsea are open to offers for Ross Barkley with Aston Villa Keen on signing the midfielder
However, The Athletic reported that Chelsea are open to offloading Barkley on a permanent basis if they receive an acceptable fee.
Ross Barkley was signed from Everton in a £15 million deal in 2018 and still has three remaining on his deal with Chelsea.