Jamie Redknapp has told the Pitch to Post podcast that he believes Jude Bellingham could cause Aston Villa’s Ross Barkley a big problem in the coming week.
Barkley moved to Villa this summer and expressed a desire to get back into the England squad for the European Championships next year soon after joining.
Barkley has caught the eye with his form at Villa, which has surely pushed him back on to the verge of a call up to the national side.
However, Bellingham was favoured for a call-up by Gareth Southgate in the past week.
The Borussia Dortmund wonderkid got the nod to join the squad ahead of Barkley.
And Redknapp believes that if Bellingham is given his debut and performs well then Barkley could struggle to force his way back into Southgate’s plans.
“If Jude Bellingham, for example, comes in and does well that’s a problem for Ross,” Redknapp said.
“I think we have a lot of good options in that area.
“At this time we’re saying what’s his best team or best squad. There’s more questions than answers. You want to be in good form now, but Gareth doesn’t care if you’ve scored four in five right now, you want the players who in red-hot form in May or June.”
Despite Redknapp’s concerns, if Barkley keeps up his current standards, he surely cannot continue to be overlooked.
Since moving to Villa, Barkley has played a key role and he has already claimed two goals and one assist in just five Premier League appearances for the claret and blues.
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