Any hopes and dreams Ross Barkley might have had on returning to Chelsea have now been doused following Frank Lampard’s sacking, according to EuroSport.
Aston Villa signed the 27-year-old from Chelsea in September on a season long loan move that has so far worked out for player and club.
Lampard used him pretty frequently during his maiden spell in charge but felt he needed to offload some personnel because of all the new arrivals last summer.
Dean Smith inducted him immediately into the starting line-up, which certainly boosted Villa’s quality to another level.
Barkley scored in his first two games for the Villains but was struck by a hamstring problem shortly after he joined that kept him out for a month.
Chelsea bought Barkley from Everton back in 2018 and has since played under three managers at Stamford Bridge.
But it doesn’t look like the midfielder, who Roberto Martinez once compared with Blues great Michael Ballack (FourFourTwo), will make it a fourth with Thomas Tuchel now at the helm.
Eurosport said that with Lampard out the window, there weren’t many members within the West London organisation that wanted to reignite Barkley’s Chelsea career.
The Chelsea Chronicle View
I’ve always been a big fan of Barkley but I don’t think he’s truly fulfilled his potential.
The constant chopping and changing of men in the dugout haven’t helped, nor as his persistent injury problems.
He looks happy at Villa so if that’s where he finds comfort, long may that continue.
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