After his signing, and return, to Aston Villa was confirmed last summer, many were convinced that Ross Barkley would prove to be a savvy addition to Unai Emery’s squad.
The 31-year-old had enjoyed an excellent stint at Luton Town, and with his experience, versatility and technical ability, he was more than capable of playing an important role as we attempted to compete on multiple fronts.
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With four goals and two assists in 30 appearances last season, the Villa midfielder played his part, and particularly in games where we were dominating possession and searching for a breakthrough, he was a key option to have at Emery’s disposal to help break teams down.
Whether it was offering an additional goalscoring threat from midfield or dictating our play and possession in deeper areas to add creativity, Barkley was an important part of the squad when needed, but injuries were certainly problematic for him and disrupted his campaign.
Much has been made of what we’ve seen this past week on social media as it’s fair to say he looks a little worse for wear on his holiday. However, players are allowed to enjoy themselves on their time off, and it’s his performance when he reports back for pre-season training that will be all that matters and forms part of the assessment on his future.
With Villa still looking to solve our PSR conundrum before June 30, Barkley’s future isn’t necessarily a priority topic at this point, while it remains to be seen if there’s even any interest in acquiring him from elsewhere with his contract at Villa still having 12 months to run on it, with the club holding an option to extend for a further year.
However, particularly with Enzo Barrenechea potentially knocking on the door after an impressive loan stint at Valencia and offering longer-term assurances with many desperate to see him given a real opportunity to stake his claim for a more prominent role moving forward, could it be time for a shift in that department this summer?
Barkley certainly still possesses the qualities and attributes to be a key figure for Emery, with Villa continuing to compete on multiple fronts and in need of competition for places and depth.
That said, with well-documented SCR concerns too given our high wage bill, could he be another potential sacrifice as we look to lower the average age and salary of the current squad?
It’s another fascinating decision that we’ll potentially have to monitor this summer as Emery, Monchi and our entire management team will meticulously analyse and ponder over all options, while an unwanted exit for one of our more influential midfield players would certainly throw a spanner in the works and force a rethink heading into the new campaign.
Will Barkley get chance to build on last season or should Villa look at alternative options?
