Ross Barkley remains an enigma for Chelsea after his hidden injury and off the field issue this season. Is a foot out the door or into stardom for him?
Ross Barkley has always been a strange player for Chelsea. While injured, he denied a deadline day transfer in the summer only to join in January after being injured the entire time in between. He was given the number eight which clearly has significance, but he spent that first half season recovering and finding match fitness. He spent Maurizio Sarri’s season in and out of the squad. And he has spent this season mostly injured (which was weirdly not disclosed) while having off the field issues that were not great looks but also not really damaging or terrible in their context.
At times he does absolutely brilliant things while at others he looks like a baby giraffe learning to walk. For England he can look like an absolute star while for Chelsea he can look like a bust. He can seemingly flip that switch game to game. The more instructions he has to keep in mind the worse he is. When truly free he is seemingly truly great.
But it is all over the place. Before the injury was revealed, it seemed sure he would leave sooner rather than later. Now, as he returns to fitness, he is seemingly trusted. Some games he looks amazing and others he looks terrible. It still remains to be seen if he is closer to the exit door or true Chelsea stardom.
It is very hard to have a player on a club team that has true freedom to do whatever they want. That is the exact circumstance that suits Barkley best however. When playing for England or as a 10 for Chelsea, he has just little enough responsibility that he can play fantastically. Some of the passes he has pulled off in recent weeks for the Blues have been superb and missing with other midfielders in his spot.
But then there is the other side when Barkley has to think about positioning on and off the ball or has to think about one-twos or third man runs. As soon as that instinct is taken from him, he goes haywire. Balls are hit too heavy or too light but never just right. The more he has to think instead of just do, the worse he looks as a player.
Barkley has been at Chelsea for two years now. He is 26 and it is basically now or never for him to become the best player he will become. With Mason Mount finding his way in the Chelsea squad and Ruben Loftus-Cheek eventually returning (hopefully as he was), Barkley’s future becomes harder to pin down. That is not to even mention Billy Gilmour who always seems right there on the verge of a breakthrough.
This back end of the season will likely decide which side of the line Barkley lands on. Now that he is fit, he should be getting more chances if for no other reason than the sheer volume of matches. How he does, and who he does it against, could determine if he spends his prime years elsewhere or as a Chelsea star.