For Ross Barkley, it looked like his time at Chelsea would be over when a loan deal was agreed with Aston Villa last season. With a promise …
For Ross Barkley, it looked like his time at Chelsea would be over when a loan deal was agreed with Aston Villa last season. With a promise of first-team football, it was a chance for Barkley to return to somewhere he was at Everton and thus be given a chance to make the move to Villa permanent.
A year later, and now part of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea squad this season, Ross Barkley got another chance to succeed at Stamford Bridge. The question is, as this is still a chance to impress, whether he can finally deliver Chelsea’s £ 30m investment?
I know it sounds harsh, but we have to be when it comes to Chelsea’s first team. With each transfer window, as players enter, you want to see competition for places to keep the existing players in those positions on their toes.
It’s the same with the loan players returning to the club with Ruben Loftus-Cheek setting an excellent example. He played himself in the deeper midfield role for the rest of the season, and not just someone filling the gaps as a backup while others were injured or rested.
Ross Barkley has had numerous opportunities at Chelsea and has never really excelled with any of them. He has failed to maintain a regular first-team place among different managers and to be honest, it’s hard to see him doing anything else under Tuchel. Right now we’ll be better off hedging our bets online casino australia or at Barkley?
I say this because the modern game requires energy and overall quality. Take a look at Mason Mount and its pace of work to guide our press. Look at N’Golo Kante’s energy, Mateo Kovacic’s willingness to work hard without the ball in defensive areas, and the improvement Jorginho made on the defensive side of his game (not nearly as good yet, but much better than that it was).
Ross Barkley is seriously lacking when it comes to the defensive side of his game and simply does not work hard enough in defensive areas without the ball. His game is about the impact he can make with the ball at these feet in the opposition half and it holds him back at Chelsea.
It will be interesting to see if Thomas Tuchel can accommodate the player Ross Barkley is with his qualities now moving forward, or if Ross Barkley can develop the other side of his game to play a crucial role for the rest of the season and beyond.
