Aston Villa have been slapped with a £40 million price tag on Ross Barkley by Chelsea after the midfielder impressed on his loan spell at Villa Park.
According to an exclusive report from 90 Min, Chelsea are looking to maximise their revenue with the sale of Ross Barkley in the summer following his impressive performance on loan at Aston Villa. The Villans are naturally interested in signing the former Everton midfielder on a permanent deal at the end of the season.
Barkley does not appear to have any future at Stamford Bridge, especially following the appointment of Thomas Tuchel. As a result, they have now slapped £40 million price tag on the Englishman as they look to make the most of the player’s exceptional performances at the Villa Park in the ongoing.
The 27-year-old has indeed been quite the revelation under Dean Smith, becoming an ideal number ten for the Villans. His partnership with Jack Grealish, in particular, has raised a lot of eyebrows and the duo has played a key role in helping Aston Villa emerge as one of the surprise packages of the campaign.
However, Chelsea’s £40 million demands for Barkley means they will now have to shatter their existing club record fee of £28 million-plus add ons that was spent on Ollie Watkins last summer.
It could be a massive boon for Chelsea as the potential sale of Barkley could significantly increase their transfer kitty in the summer. The Blues are expected to go through yet another busy window despite having spent a fortune in 2020 with the arrival of players like Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva and Timo Werner.
Tuchel, who is a far more technically astute manager when compared to Frank Lampard, prefers players of the same calibre. So the likes of Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and perhaps even Tammy Abraham could now find it difficult to find a place in the starting eleven.
The Blues have been recently linked with a move Jadon Sancho while in a more sensational story, Eden Hazard has been tipped for a potential return to Stamford Bridge. Hence, a lot could be store for Chelsea in the summer, and the likely summer departure of Barkley could be the first step towards a full-fledged squad overhaul as Tuchel looks to usher in a new era in West London.
