Everton are reportedly in advanced talks with Chelsea for the potential return of Ross Barkley to Goodison Park.
According to 90 min, Chelsea and Everton are in advanced talks over a summer transfer of English midfielder Ross Barkley. The 28-year-old left Goodison Park from Stamford Bridge in 2018 but has failed to cement a starting spot at the west London club.
An Everton youth product, Barkley made 179 first-team appearances for the Toffees before joining Chelsea in the 2018 January transfer window, severely damaging his relationship with the Merseyside club’s fans. The English midfielder forced a move away from Goodison Park to join the Blues but has failed spectacularly to live up to the expectations.
In four years, Barkley has made 99 appearances for the west London club, scoring 12 goals and providing 11 assists. The 28-year-old has not been able to break into the starting squad and the change in managers at Chelsea has not helped his case either as he has largely been restricted to the bench.
The 28-year-old midfielder spent the 2020/21 season on loan at Aston Villa and was impressive in patches. But Barkley was not convincing enough for the Villans to sign him on a permanent transfer. At Chelsea, he was again limited to a bit-part role last term and mustered just 14 appearances across all competitions.
With just a year remaining on his contract, Chelsea are eager to offload him, and former club Everton have emerged as favourites after being offered the chance to sign him. The Toffees are in advanced talks with the Blues to seal a sensational return of Barkley to Goodison Park.
The player is said to be keen on returning to his boyhood club, and Everton are now finalising the finer details of the move. The Merseyside giants are set to sign the Englishman on a permanent basis, and he could be their fourth transfer of the summer.
Everton have already signed James Tarkowski on a free transfer from Burnley and his former teammate Dwight McNeil as well. Left-back Ruben Vinagre has also joined them on a year-long loan deal from Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon. It will be interesting to see if Barkley returns to Everton from Chelsea in the coming days.
