Paul Merson labelled 28-year-old ‘superstar’, now he’s back on Aston Villa’s transfer radar

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Aston Villa and Everton have been offered the chance to re-sign Ross Barkley from Chelsea, according to a report.

The 28-year-old’s future at Chelsea has hit a brick wall and the London club want to ‘get rid’ of the midfielder ahead of the new Premier League season, as reported by the Mirror.

Barkley is a boyhood Everton fan and he came through the ranks at the Merseyside club, before his unpopular move to Stamford Bridge in 2018.

In truth, his career has stalled since then and he simply hasn’t been able to get going in the colours of Chelsea, who are thought to be paying him over £100k-a-week.

Two seasons ago, the Englishman was loaned to Aston Villa and he started like a house on fire under Dean Smith by scoring on his debut as the Midlands side shocked Liverpool by beating them 7-2.

At the time, Holte End favourite Paul Merson labelled Barkley a ‘superstar’ and he expressed his shock at Chelsea letting him leave for Villa, as he told the Daily Star.

Whilst the ball-carrying midfielder enjoyed a fruitful first half of the campaign in Villa colours, it turned sour towards the end and he couldn’t even get into the club’s starting XI as they slumped to an 11th-placed finish.

Those struggles have continued upon his return to Chelsea, as Thomas Tuchel is seemingly trying to get him off the wage bill, as it’s suggested that Everton and Villa have been offered to sign him.

VILLA AND EVERTON SHOULD STAY CLEAR OF BARKLEY

Barkley’s relationship with Everton fans turned sour just before he left, and whilst they need attacking bite to their team, they already have a faltering Englishman on their books – Dele Alli – and they don’t need another one.

Villa fans got a taste of what Barkley was all about, and whilst it started well, at the end of the day, they didn’t look to purchase him outright.

That in itself should tell you how fans and those inside the club feel about him, and even though it’s Steven Gerrard in the dugout now, someone like Barkley wouldn’t even currently make Villa’s XI.