Ross Barkley becomes a free agent after leaving Chelsea

30/08/2022 41comments  |  Jump to last

Chelsea have announced midfielder Ross Barkley has left the club by mutual consent and is a free agent.

Barkley, who has 33 England caps but has not played for his country since 2019, has not appeared for Thomas Tuchel's side this season.

The 28-year-old's last game for Chelsea was a 2-1 win over Watford on the final day of last season, when he scored a 90th-minute winner.

» Read the full article at BBC Sport



Reader Comments (41)

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John Cook
1 Posted 29/08/2022 at 16:33:11
I would take him back.

Good back-up and would now cost us nothing!

John Cook
3 Posted 29/08/2022 at 16:38:01
Disagree Nick, compared with some of the shite we have signed over the years, I still think he would be a good squad player.
Kieran Kinsella
4 Posted 29/08/2022 at 17:19:39
Ross could be very effective in a sweeping-up role.

In the stands, with a broom.

Hugh Jenkins
5 Posted 29/08/2022 at 17:23:04
John - Cost us nothing? Not nowadays I'm afraid.

Even if he was willing to come for nothing, his agent will insist on a signing-on fee.

Brent Stephens
6 Posted 29/08/2022 at 17:26:34
Kieran - he might have to ask "which end do I use?"

Neil Copeland
7 Posted 29/08/2022 at 17:39:21
Brent, probably be most effective with it located where the sun don’t shine.
Kieran Kinsella
8 Posted 29/08/2022 at 18:12:48
Neil

Lol

Geoff Lambert
9 Posted 29/08/2022 at 18:33:46
I can see old luvi chops having dinner with the diamond tonight,

"Come back to your home, Ross — we won't tell Frank till you're signed on!"

Ian Edwards
10 Posted 29/08/2022 at 18:50:43
On the basis that Barkley was a far better player for Everton than Idrissa Gueye was... I would sooner have Barkley back.
Tony Hill
11 Posted 29/08/2022 at 18:56:34
Characteristically profound, Ian.
Tom Bowers
12 Posted 29/08/2022 at 22:19:55
I cannot see Barkley coming back here, especially as he was on £200k a week at Chelsea for basically warming the bench. Nice like if you can get it.

Besides, he will want a team in the Champions League or similar so he may stay in London.

Tony Everan
13 Posted 30/08/2022 at 07:00:40
I think Ross will go to the Scottish league as rumoured, he will enjoy it. There will be a fraction more time and space to play his game, he needs it.
Mick O’Malley
14 Posted 30/08/2022 at 07:55:32
Ian Edwards,

I completely agree with you about Barkley, I'd have him back in a heartbeat.

I couldn't care less what happened when he went to Chelsea, Barkley on a free is a no-brainer for me.

Christine Foster
15 Posted 30/08/2022 at 08:06:51
Barkley as a freebie is a far better prospect than Alli, as a choice between the two, I would take Barkley any day.

But in reality, would he be welcome? He made his choice, we moved on, he is stuck in a hole, perhaps Rangers or Celtic or Beckham's lot in the States?

He certainly fits the bill at Everton, he is free, just been paid off out of his contract, a few million in the bank, he can't command a big salary, in fact he cannot command any!

Comes back and in a year we sell him on for £10 million...

Derek Thomas
16 Posted 30/08/2022 at 08:41:47
Barkley was paid off for a few reasons, mainly financial, but the underlying one was a footballing one, he wasn't worth a carrot.

And to make it worse we all know his Uncle Bill will pay him another undeserved 'king fortune.

Nobody - well not many - wanted Winks...a Cleverly clone...capable but unimaginative.

Barkley couldn't touch unimaginative stood on tip toe. He's totally Instinctive - when he get it right you get goals like his Newcastle one.

Trouble is he mostly just zigs when he should zag and please spare me from his bemused 360 degree 'wtf do I do now' turn.

So for that reason - I'm out.

Tony Everan
17 Posted 30/08/2022 at 10:13:49
Premier League football is too intensive and fast for Ross Barkley. Similar to why Gomes cannot cope. These players need a bit more breathing space to perform.

Ross is better off going to Scotland as has been rumoured, he'd be a success for Rangers.

James Marshall
18 Posted 30/08/2022 at 10:25:38
I'll be staggered if he comes back, even on a free. Lampard publicly slated him when he was at Chelsea with him, partly for his lack of professionalism in a nightclub with his shirt off, but also for him being lazy as a player too.

Lampard doesn't rate him as a player or a person so this would be hugely unlikely in my view.

As above I reckon he'll end up either in Scotland, or at a club like Bournemouth or Forest. Lampard seems to be interested in players with the right mindset, as much as their ability – Barkley does not fit the mould.

Robert Tressell
19 Posted 30/08/2022 at 10:25:46
We really shouldn't be interested in Barkley. Great in patches back in the day but he's not the player we need now.
Tony McNulty
20 Posted 30/08/2022 at 10:34:21
I personally was fooled by the Newcastle goal but I think his leg breaks were what caused his downfall.

They affected his head. And maybe understandably so, given the fear of getting injured again and perhaps the premature end to a career.

Offhand, I can't think of a midfield player more reluctant to attempt a tackle.

Christy Ring
21 Posted 30/08/2022 at 10:34:36
Ross, even as an impact sub, is a better option than any midfielder on the bench, and after a big payout, as a free agent, would definitely be an improvement in the squad, would be a better option than Gomes.
James Marshall
22 Posted 30/08/2022 at 10:46:23
Christy - Ross Barkley doesn't fit the Lampard mould in any way, shape or form. He doesn't work hard enough, won't press the ball enough, and definitely won't tackle enough.

Lampard is putting together a tough team who will work for each other - Barkley is about as far from the Lampard mould as you can get.

It's lazy journalism to link Ross Barkley with Everton, and that's all it is in my view. File under: never gonna happen (I hope I don't eat those words!)

Paul Ward
23 Posted 30/08/2022 at 11:02:32
I used to think RS players were capped just because they played in a winning team but to see this imposter steal 33 caps is a joke.

He shit all over this club but the usual suspects on TW want him back. I'm with the posters who predicted he would be out of his depth at Chelsea.

Barry Rathbone
24 Posted 30/08/2022 at 12:26:38
Sorta get the fact he isn't up to Chelsea standard but getting blown out at Villa??

He can play, but by all accounts is as dull as dishwater which might explain why he can't eradicate the obvious and fairly simple faults in his game.

He's finished at the top level because his brain resembles Swiss cheese.

Nick Page
25 Posted 30/08/2022 at 12:28:56
Barkley is shite.

Fact.

We move on...

Ian Bennett
26 Posted 30/08/2022 at 12:31:44
I can see Barkley coming in, and Rondon being released.
Nick Page
27 Posted 30/08/2022 at 12:39:15
If Barkley comes in, Ian, then the whole place needs burning down because there is no fucking hope from that position.
Fran Mitchell
28 Posted 30/08/2022 at 12:40:56
He's just not very good.

He got his chance to show what he can do at Aston Villa. Many viewed him joining them, playing in tandem with Grealish, would see him really develop.

He made a few good passes in his first few games. He then became more and more ineffectual; games would go by and people would not notice if Barkley was on the pitch.

Or his passing would be wayward, and his laziness exploited.

He was dropped by Villa soonish, and then swiftly returned to sit on the bench of Chelsea.

He has now been released, and there is no clamour for his signature.

He's just not that good.

Christy Ring
29 Posted 30/08/2022 at 13:41:03
We still haven't got a playmaker in midfield

If Gueye is the only midfielder in, I'd take Barkley, definitely good enough off the bench.

Hugo Kondratiuk
30 Posted 30/08/2022 at 14:04:43
Colin Harvey, one England cap.
Howard Kendall, none.
Ross Barkley, 33.

It sure is a funny old game.

Sean Roe
31 Posted 30/08/2022 at 14:26:48
I often wonder how many of these young English players are signed up by the ''Big'' clubs like Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd purely to make up the homegrown quota for European games?

May be a bit of a lesson there for young Anthony Gordon!

David West
32 Posted 30/08/2022 at 14:29:41
I'm not keen as, I've said before, and definitely not instead of Gana.

Where does he fit in this team?
Ahead of Iwobi?
Ahead of Onana?
Ahead of Gana?

I'd have him if it's free and not near the £100k a week he'd want. Barkley reported to be on £200k now. Last resort for me.

Dave Abrahams
33 Posted 30/08/2022 at 14:30:08
An Everton idol said, a couple of years into Barkley's career. “The lad hasn't got a football brain.” In the next few years, he proved it.

Good luck with the rest of your football career, Ross, but I honestly hope it is far away from Everton and Finch Farm.

Jay Harris
34 Posted 30/08/2022 at 14:39:48
I'm surprised we've even got a thread about him. Technically gifted but nothing between his ears except for thoughts about clubbing.

He is okay playing keepy-uppy with himself but he will never grasp the subject of tactics and positional sense.

He got an undeserved living out of Everton and screwed us out of £20M plus his medical expenses and salary for 7 months.

I never want to see him anywhere near Everton Football Club again.

Jason Hewly
35 Posted 30/08/2022 at 18:53:04
The only manager who has had consistent faith in Ross Barkley is Roberto Martinez. Everyone else has bought into the reputation before dropping him. Even in the Championship, Warnock sent him back from a loan at Leeds because he had no tactical acumen and found it impossible to follow instructions.

As for him making it at one the Glasgow clubs, forget about it. He'll lose all the goodwill from fans in the first 5 minutes of his first Old Firm game.

He's 28, would want a signing-on fee, demand big wages, and have no sell-on value. Fuck him.

Sean Roe
36 Posted 30/08/2022 at 19:10:43
The main problem when he played for us was the sticky grass. Sort that out and we'll have a beast of a midfielder on our hands if he comes back...
Pekka Harvilahti
37 Posted 30/08/2022 at 22:01:11
Pay as you play contract?
Justin Doone
38 Posted 30/08/2022 at 22:26:12
Sadly a talented player that never fulfilled his potential. For a midfielder he had / has no stamina and failed to deliver the final killer ball and missed sitters.

He plays like James Rodriguez without the class or same skill set. Sadly it's a no from me. Too many questions about his heart, his talent and his determination.

Paul Birmingham
39 Posted 30/08/2022 at 23:14:12
I'd like to think that Everton are learning from past recruitment mistakes.

Ross had his chances and recovered well from his bad injuries. But has he driven himself to achieve his potential?

Which club would rationally buy a player who's barely played 6 full games a season in the last 5 years?

I think he will end up with Rooney in the US, but let's see.

Bill Gienapp
40 Posted 04/09/2022 at 20:53:24
I see Barkley has signed for Nice. Ending up on the same club as Schneiderlin somehow feels appropriate.
Steve Brown
41 Posted 05/09/2022 at 11:33:15
Barkley to Nice.

What's the French word for knucklehead? Could come in useful for his team mates.

Paul Hughes
42 Posted 23/09/2022 at 16:14:52
Nice? He probably thought he was getting a free packet of biscuits.

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