Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is staring at a midfield crisis right now, but Ross Barkley is likely to be someone that benefits as a result.
The Blues are without Jorginho for the next three matches across all competitions through suspension, plus both Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante have injury problems.
With Ruben Loftus-Cheek still working his way back to fitness, it doesn’t look like there are too many options in the centre of the park going into the weekend’s league fixture at home to Everton in the Premier League.
18-year-old Billy Gilmour may come into the plans following on from his FA Cup masterclass in midweek during the 2-0 win over Liverpool, which has set up a quarter-final tie away to Leicester City.
Barkley is another that made the most of his opportunity and it will be no surprise to see him keep his position in the starting XI against his former team Everton.
The England international moved to Stamford Bridge from Everton for £15million (BBC) in January 2018 and has certainly not reached dizzy heights in West London.
He reminded everyone of his talent against Liverpool on Tuesday night, but it really looks like now or never in his Blues career if he wants to have a role to play moving forward under Lampard.
Barkley scored a stunning solo goal after a long driving run forward with the ball and it’s that kind of confidence and quality that he’s not shown enough at Chelsea.
The 26-year-old playmaker may be presented with a glorious opportunity due to injuries to shine in midfield and he can’t afford to waste it this time.
He’s got the individual talent on his day to be a serious success in English football, but needs to find far more consistency if he wants to stay around for the long haul and has the perfect motivation to build some momentum against Everton.
But another extended spell out of the starting XI could mean the writing is on the wall for his future.
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