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Liam GracePublished May 20, 2024, 5:41pm|Updated May 20, 2024, 5:42pm
Aston Villa are reportedly closing in on a deal to sign Ross Barkley from Luton Town after they were relegated from the Premier League on Sunday.
Barkley had been linked with a move to Manchester United and it was thought that Sir Jim Ratcliffe saw him as a potential replacement for Casemiro.
But Villa want to strengthen their squad in the upcoming summer transfer window as they prepare for the Champions League after finishing fourth in the top-flight.
It seems they’re set to bring in Barkley – who massively impressed for Luton in the 2023-24 campaign – after arriving at Kenilworth Road as a free agent last summer.
That’s according to The Guardian, who report that a deal is close, with Barkley having publicly declared his desire to play in the Premier League last month.
‘I want to play in the Premier League,’ the 30-year-old midfielder said. ‘I want to play in Europe again… I feel like for the next three years maybe I’ll still be in my prime years.’
Barkley heading to a Champions League club is an impressive career revival for a player who largely struggled at Chelsea and ended up in the French top-flight.
Much was expected of Barkley when he joined Chelsea from boyhood club Everton in 2018 but he largely struggled and was eventually sold to Nice in 2022.
Barkley spent just one season in Ligue 1 before he was snapped up a Luton side who needed to strengthen after their surprise promotion from the Championship.
But with Luton set to play in the second-tier for the 2024-25 campaign, Barkley is moving on again and is now expected to join Unai Emery’s Villa, where he previously played on loan.
That comes as bad news to Luton boss Rob Edwards, who was hoping to convince Barkley to stay at the Bedfordshire club.
‘We’ve had a chat,’ Edwards recently said about Barkley’s future. ‘The fans showed their love for Ross, he’s adored by everyone here, we will see what happens. He’s contracted to the club and I expect to see him in pre-season.
‘We want to keep the majority of the group together to attack the league. We have no financial worries at all so we don’t have to sell anybody. It’s inevitable there will be change – that happens. It has to be right for us, first of all.’
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