Credit: Imago

James Barker

Mon 23 March 2026 13:40, UK

Ross Barkley was excellent for Aston Villa against West Ham United, meaning Youri Tielemans could struggle to oust him from Unai Emery’s XI.

Barkley has been gradually returning to the Aston Villa fold over the last few weeks, as he continues to recover from a significant knee injury that he picked up in late November last year.

Emery decided to include him in his starting lineup for the first time this season against Man United on 15 March, after re-working his teamsheet due to the fact Jadon Sancho wasn’t able to play against his parent side.

That appears to have been a real sliding doors moment for the experienced midfielder at Old Trafford, as the 32-year-old looks to forge out an important place in Emery’s plans.

And, in Villa’s win over West Ham, he once again showed why he deserves to keep his place in the lineup between now and the end of the season.

Ross Barkley was brilliant for Aston Villa vs West Ham

Barkley is contracted with Villa until 2027, meaning he’s not got that long left to potentially win a new deal at Villa Park.

He returned to Villa in the summer of 2024 following a one-year spell with Luton Town in the Premier League, and was undoubtedly one of the Hatters’ best players that year despite their relegation.

However, after a solid 2024-25 campaign that saw him contribute three goals and one assist in 20 league games, Barkley now looks set to enjoy his best run of football as a Villa player between now and the end of the campaign.

Against West Ham on Sunday, Barkley was superb in the 67 minutes that he was on the pitch, before being replaced by Douglas Luiz.

As per Sofascore, he created one big chance, completed all 16 of his passes in his own half accurately, took two shots on goal and won his only aerial duel.

He also wasn’t dribbled past once, made four recoveries and two clearances, showing that he can still contribute well at both ends of the pitch despite his age.

Emery has welcome Barkley/Tielemans headache now

Throughout most of the season, Emery will’ve been cursing his lack of strength in depth amid the amount of injuries that have plagued his team this term.

So, it will be a very welcome, albeit somewhat frustrating headache to have, now that Barkley is back and playing the way he is, and with Tielemans being ahead of schedule in his respective recovery from injury.

He will no doubt want Tielemans back in the starting XI, as the Belgian international has been one of Villa’s best performers this season, but if that’s at the expense of Barkley, then that’s very harsh.

One potential way around that could be to deploy a 4-3-3, with Barkley, Tielemans and Amadou Onana as a midfield three, with possibly Morgan Rogers on the left, John McGinn/Sancho on the right and Ollie Watkins through the middle.

However, Emery hasn’t really budged from his 4-2-3-1 approach all season, but it will be interesting to see how he handles this midfield dilemma over the coming games.