Ross Barkley role at Aston Villa mooted as Fabrizio Romano shares new summer transfer update
Ross Barkley will only be a rotation option at Aston Villa and won’t play week in and week out under Unai Emery, according to Alan Hutton.
The 30-year-old midfielder has revived his career with an excellent season at Luton Town, where he starred for Rob Edwards’ side with a number of impressive performances despite the Hatters’ relegation to the Championship.
Barkley’s displays have reportedly caught the eye of Emery ahead of the summer transfer window, with Fabrizio Romano (20 May) suggesting that the Villans are in advanced talks to bring the former England international to Villa Park.
Although Hutton admits that he doesn’t think the former Everton gem will start every week, he expects him to fit in “seamlessly” at Aston Villa, admitting strength in depth could be crucial to Emery’s side this term.
“I think he is an experienced player who makes the squad better,” Hutton told Villa News.
“Do I think he comes in and plays week in and week out? I’m not so sure so that will be up to him. They’ve obviously got Boubacar Kamara to come back, Douglas Luiz who has speculation surrounding him and John McGinn.
“You’ve got different options so I think he will definitely come into compete for those places but I’m not sure he’s going to start week in and week out.
“That’s what we’ve probably seen has been missing with Villa over the last few months where they have picked up a number of injuries.
“You look at the bench at the weekend and it’s full of youngsters which is great because they get their moment to come in and shine, but when you’re going for top four and playing in the Champions League the squad needs to be bigger and there needs to be more experience within that as well.
“He knows what the club is about, I actually really liked him when he first came to the club, it was just unfortunate that he got an injury which hampered him.
“But he knows what it is all about and he knows a lot of the boys so he can fit in seamlessly.”
Will Aston Villa sign Luton Town star Ross Barkley during the summer transfer window?
As Hutton suggests, Villa’s lack of depth has been exposed over the last few months. Especially when Kamara and Youri Tielemans have been sidelined through injury, leaving Emery down to his bare bones in the middle of the park.
Barkley has shown that he is more than capable of playing regular Premier League football at an incredibly high level. If he matches his Luton Town levels in claret and blue, he could make a huge difference at Villa Park.
Whether or not he will be able to force his way into the starting XI on a regular basis remains to be seen, but it will ultimately be down to the 30-year-old to show Emery that he is better than the options already at his disposal.
In other Aston Villa news, Jack Grealish’s stance on a summer return to Villa Park has been mooted amid Manchester City exit speculation
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