Ross Barkley does himself no favours for Aston Villa in shocker v Fleetwood Town
Ross Barkley won’t have done himself any favours with Unai Emery after his Aston Villa performance against Fleetwood Town.
The 30-year-old signed from Luton Town over the summer started as the Under 21’s began their Bristol Street Motors Trophy campaign at Highbury.
It was a good nights work for the Young Lions, securing a 3-2 win against the League Two sides with Kyrie Pierre scoring a late winner.
The Villans were 2-0 up in the first half thanks to an Emi Buendia brace before the home side scored two after the interval to level things.
Throughout the game, Barkley failed to have the impact he would have expected which will leave Emery disappointed heading into the international break.
Ross Barkley falters for Aston Villa U21s v Fleetwood Town
The former England international featured for 77 minutes at Highbury but didn’t look much better than anybody else on the pitch.
Barkley had 63 touches of the ball and was able to keep up an 86 per cent pass accuracy but that was it was as good as it got [SofaScore].
He maintained a success rate of just 25 per cent for crosses and 50 per cent for long-range passes, which he would have expected better of himself.
Another area where the ex-Everton star struggled uncharacteristically was his dribbling where he failed to complete one after two different attempts.
Defensively the central midfielder was poor, losing five duels and possession 13 times throughout the game which Emery wouldn’t stand for in a Premier League game.
There was a lack of urgency from the Englishman who had the chance to stake his claim for a shot in the first team after the international break.
It is safe to say that his showing in the EFL Trophy hasn’t done himself any favours.
In other Aston Villa news, left-field transfer move set for announcement amid £1m Arsenal deal.
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.