Ross Barkley stance on summer Aston Villa transfer shared as personal terms mooted
Aston Villa will not encounter any issues when negotiating personal terms to bring Ross Barkley back to Villa Park this summer, according to Alan Hutton.
The 30-year-old enjoyed an excellent revival campaign with Luton Town last season, playing 32 times and registering nine goal contributions in the Premier League to get his career back on track after a difficult few years.
Barkley's return to form caught the eye of several Premier League clubs but according to reports, the Villans have agreed on a £5million transfer fee with the Hatters, with personal terms set to be discussed in July [Fabrizio Romano, 3 June].
Although Hutton doesn't believe the former Everton star will be a regular starter under Unai Emery at Villa Park, he expects the midfielder to be happy with a reduced role and still sign on the dotted line of his contract.
"I don't think personal terms will be an issue," Hutton exclusively told Villa News.
"All of that will be done relatively quickly. In terms of starting week in and week out, I've said before that I don't expect that to be the case.
"I think he will come in and make the squad stronger, he's very reliable, he knows the club and he knows the players. That makes it a lot easier to settle into a new club so that is also very good.
"But I don't think he will be playing week in and week out and at his age and with everything that he has been through, I think he will understand that and he will know that he will get games.
"He's going to be called upon and he'll know that Emery, when he's got a fully fit squad he does like to change things for certain games so of course he will play and he'll bring a wealth of experience.
"But I think there will be one or two ahead of him for the bigger games. That being said, I think he adds a lot of value to that team."
Has Ross Barkley signed for Aston Villa during the summer transfer window?
Emery is known to be a huge admirer of Barkley so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise to see Villa move so quickly to get this deal over the line so early in the off-season. They wanted to get their man before anyone else could swoop in.
The Englishman may have had a difficult few years, but he showed during his spell with Luton that he is more than capable of performing consistently in the Premier League, even if he wasn't able to help them dodge the drop.
In an ideal world, he would be playing week in and week out in the Premier League, but he will understand that is unlikely to happen under Emery at Villa Park, especially with Villa's strength in the middle of the park.
Hopefully, the contract will be signed with no later hiccups as soon as July rolls around and the England international will be an Aston Villa player.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery is set to make a Kelechi Iheanacho transfer call after new developments at Leicester City
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.