28-year-old Chelsea outcast takes stance on his Stamford Bridge future amidst lack of game time

Ross Barkley keen to earn his place at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel

According to Daily Mail Online, Ross Barkley is prepared to stay at Chelsea and fight for a place under Thomas Tuchel despite having interest from Leeds United. He was only used as a substitute during the 5-1 win against Chesterfield in the FA Cup third round.

Leeds are looking at the January transfer window to sign a midfielder on loan and have shown an interest in Barkley. But he has taken this shocking stance even though he has struggled to earn minutes in recent games. He even failed to start against a lower division club in the previous fixture, which shows his current plight.

Having earned just 428 minutes this campaign, one would be puzzled by the Englishman’s decision to stay with the Blues. There was a time during late October to early November when it seemed that he could get a more prominent role moving forward. But that has long passed, and it seems there is no way back as he was left on the bench for the past four Premier League games.

Wrong choice?

The Blues ace has taken a risky path ahead, considering his current plight at the West London club. With the 2022 Qatar World Cup set to happen later this year, one would think that he would try to move elsewhere to make his case to Gareth Southgate. But as courageous as it may be, questions can definitely be raised about his intentions.

We can appreciate his desire to continue fighting for a spot, but with Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante performing at their best, it is doubtful if the England international can displace any of them. That’s not all, as even Saul Niguez has been splendid over the past few games and has earned praises from Thomas Tuchel.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also in the running, meaning the 28-year-old is arguably at the bottom of the barrel. Things could probably get even worse next season with the loanees like Conor Gallagher and Billy Gilmour returning to the squad.

More Chelsea News

• Transfer News: Chelsea handed valuation for signing Napoli striker Victor Osimhen
• Transfer News: Chelsea ready to offer compensation to Lyon for loan recall of Emerson Palmieri
• Barcelona ponder selling right-back Sergino Dest in January transfer window amidst Chelsea interest

With all these reasons in mind, the club have to convince the English midfielder to reconsider his options for taking a reasonable stance. After all, keeping at the club without much use would hamper us too in the form of wages. If a temporary deal gets approved, we can get him off the bill and even earn some loan fees in the process.

The other side of the argument can be how we have endured injury struggles this season, plus the current Covid situation forces us to maintain a healthy squad. We are still battling in multiple competitions, which further adds weight to this side of the coin. It remains to be seen how this situation would pan out in the coming days as the transfer window is already underway.