Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley may still have a future at the club despite joining Aston Villa on loan this season.
The England international hasn’t really been able to establish himself as a first-team regular at Stamford Bridge since joining from Everton back in 2018, and this led to him going out on loan to Villa to play more regularly this season.
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According to the Birmingham Mail, however, Chelsea are not keen to let Barkley leave on the cheap, which perhaps suggests Frank Lampard has been won over by some of his form whilst at Villa Park.
Barkley started well for Villa, showing some of the natural talent that made him so highly rated during his days as a youngster at Everton.
The 27-year-old will undoubtedly face plenty of competition for a place at Chelsea, but he could perhaps be encouraged by the fact that the Blues don’t seem overly keen to offload him.
Lampard could be justified in thinking Barkley still has it in him to be an upgrade on unconvincing midfield performers like Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.
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