Dean Smith dismisses chances of permanent deal for Chelsea loanee Ross Barkley
According to Birmingham Live, Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has dismissed the idea of the club signing Chelsea loanee Ross Barkley on a permanent deal at the end of the season.
Barkley signed for the Villans on a season-long loan deal last summer, following the arrivals of Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz to Chelsea. The England international made a blazing start to life at Villa Park, forming a dangerous tandem with Jack Grealish.
However, a hamstring injury he sustained in November led to a significant spell on the sidelines, post which Barkley has struggled to hit the heights of the early periods of the season.
Quizzed whether Villa were looking to sign Barkley permanently, Smith dismissed such a notion, insisting that he has still two years on his contract with Chelsea and this was always a season-long loan arrangement. (h/t Birmingham Live)
“He’s got two years left on his Chelsea contract, I believe. The deal was always to bring him in for the season. We wanted a high-calibre player on loan to add to our quality that we’d signed permanently.”
Pushed on what went wrong for Barkley at Villa, Smith said, the time on the sidelines had an impact on his form. But he reiterated that there were no plans for a permanent transfer at any stage.
“He started the season like a house on fire. Then, with the Covid break after his injury, he’s probably been as inconsistent as we have as a team. But his future for the next two years is at Chelsea and we haven’t had any discussions about that and I think it would be wrong to do so, since it was a one-year loan.”
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So far, the 27-year-old has featured 24 times for the Midlands’ club, managing a return of three goals and an assist. (h/t Transfermarkt)
And it looks like he will be back at Stamford Bridge come the end of the season. It will be interesting to see whether he is able to find a place in Thomas Tuchel’s plans for next term.