Everton sold Ross Barkley to Chelsea in the January transfer window and he’s scored his first Premier League goal for Maurizio Sarri’s side.
Has the penny dropped for Ross Barkley?
For the first time since he arrived at Chelsea from Everton in January, the £15 million man is starting to slightly resemble the dazzling young talent who took Goodison Park by storm and had pundits tipping him to be the 21st century’s answer to Paul Gascoigne.
Barkley scored his first goal for Chelsea in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Southampton, capping a fine individual performance in which he also set up Eden Hazard’s opener.
Now, the 24-year-old has been vocal about the improvements he’s made at Stamford Bridge under Maurizio Sarri while indicating that the coaching he received at Everton in recent seasons was inadequate by comparison.
And, speaking on Match of the Day 2 (7 October, 10pm) Jermaine Jenas has indicated that he agrees with Barkley’s assessment.
“If you don’t get it then that’s not the manager’s issue, then the issue is your issue. With Ross Barkley there may have been a little bit of that. A little bit too much on young shoulders at Everton,” Jenas said.
“He was played behind [Romelu] Lukaku a lot of the time and people were asking for 15, 20 goals a season from him. He wasn’t mature enough at that point.
“Within this team, with better players around him, and a manager more particular about how he wants him to play, he’s only going to benefit.”
Much has been made of Barkley’s perceived lack of game time at Chelsea but he has featured in seven of their eight Premier League games this season, albeit starting just three of those.
And though Everton deserve plenty of credit for giving the Liverpool-born youngster his chance in the top flight, moving down south could be the making of Barkley.
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