Ross Barkley given Chelsea lifeline as Frank Lampard ‘calls him to praise his form at Aston Villa’
Ross Barkley’s Chelsea career has been handed a lifeline after Frank Lampard reportedly called to congratulate him on his fast start to life at Aston Villa.
The midfielder has settled in quickly at Villa Park and has rediscovered his best form, scoring twice in five matches to help fire Dean Smith’s side up to sixth in the table.
The 26-year-old joined Villa in the summer on a season-long loan deal, having asked for a move after Lampard was unable to give him assurances over his playing time following their summer business.
Ross Barkley has been congratulated by Frank Lampard for his strong start at Aston Villa
The Chelsea boss is not yet ruling out Barkley returning to his first-team plans next season
With the big-money arrivals of Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech, Barkley found himself frozen out of Lampard’s first-team plans but has now been given fresh hope that he still has a career at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea boss is understood to have been impressed with Barkley’s performances and recently contacted him to praise him on his strong start at Villa, according to Eurosport.
The publication reports that Lampard is ‘fascinated’ by elements of Barkley’s game and has not ruled out opening the door for him to return to the fold at Chelsea next season if he continues to perform well.
Villa boss Smith revealed last month he promised Barkley he would get him into England’s Euros squad next summer.
Barkley has struck up a formidable midfield partnership with Jack Grealish at Villa
Barkley asked for a loan move, having found himself out of the picture after Kai Havertz joined
Barkley, who turns 27 in December, has not featured for Gareth Southgate’s squad for more than a year since scoring twice in the 6-0 win over Bulgaria.
‘He’s a high-calibre player. I’m thankful to Chelsea that they’ve loaned him to us,’ said Smith of the former Everton midfielder back in October.
‘I sold him the project here and told him I’ll get him in the Euros squad and he’s going to try and help us win football games. He’s certainly done that in his first couple.’
‘He couldn’t have started better. Being a Blue, getting that win and scoring against the Reds (in the 7-2 win before the international break) and then getting that in the 91st minute couldn’t have been a better start for him or us.’
