Ross Barkley leaves Chelsea on mutual consent to become free agent
Ross Barkley is now a free agent after leaving Chelsea on mutual consent, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. He was believed to be earning around £200,000 a week in wages at the club.
The 28-year-old struggled to become a regular starter at Chelsea ever since his move from Everton in January 2018. He leaves the club after scoring 12 goals and providing 11 assists in 100 games across all competitions.
He was even loaned out to Aston Villa for the 2020/21 season but failed to impress, scoring just three goals and providing one assist in 24 games. It now seems he is on the lookout for a new challenge.
It remains to be seen where he is headed next. The transfer window deadline is on September 1, but that date could vary for some leagues across the world, especially ones outside the top five European leagues.
What next for Barkley?
The Blues have been strengthened to a big extent in midfield by the return of Crystal Palace’s Player of the Season 2021/22, Conor Gallagher. He has had a poor start to life at Stamford Bridge with the senior team.
However, it is unwise to rule him out after just a couple of subpar games. For now, the Blues have Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, and N’Golo Kante to play in central midfield.
The Blues have been linked with a move to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, but with just a few days left in the current transfer window, that deal may not be the easiest to conclude.
Barkley has not had a memorable time at Stamford Bridge. Along with Danny Drinkwater, he was perhaps one of Chelsea’s most popular transfer failures in recent years.
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The Blues fans would remember his last goal for the club pretty fondly, when he scored in stoppage time against Watford in the last game of the 2021/22 season.