Ross Barkley who featured in the Ligue 1 side Nice was released this summer after one season. The former England midfielder who played the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is now moving to Luton Town on a free transfer. Barkley is expected to make his debut for the Hatters in their opening Premier League match at Brighton on Saturday. Barkley has a good Premier League record with his former sides Everton and Chelsea. Luton manager Rob Edwards is confident about Barkley and stated “Ross brings loads of experience at the top level, has international experience, and brings an X-factor,”.
Former Chelsea player moving to Luton Town:
29-year-old Midfielder Ross Barkley started his career back in 2010 with Premier League side Everton. He played eight seasons with Everton before making a move to another highly rated Premier League club Chelsea in 2018 on a five-and-a-half-year deal worth £15m but struggled to establish himself at Stamford Bridge. He made 150 appearances in the Premier League for Everton scoring 21 goals.
Barkley joined Premier League club Chelsea for a fee of £15 million, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract with the defending champions in 2018. He made his debut against Arsenal in the semi-final second leg of the EFL Cup on 24 January. Barkley scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 3–0 win against Southampton in the Premier League. He spent five years with Chelsea making only 58 appearances and scoring 5 goals.
In the 2020/21 season, he signed a loan contract with Aston Villa. He made 24 appearances for them and also scored 3 goals. In September 2022, he made his next move to Ligue 1 side Nice. He made a total of 27 appearances and scored four goals before making his way back again in the Premier League with the newly promoted Premier League club Luton Town on a free transfer.
The 29-year-old said on asked Why Luton, “Going from the Conference to the Premier League is a great story and for me personally to be back in the Premier League, it’s great motivation. I’m still relatively young and over the last couple of years I’ve not played as much as I’d have liked. But I’ve reserved a lot of energy and looked after myself, so it’s great to be here now as I’ve got a lot to show but I’m ready and feeling motivated.”
He also featured in the England national team since 2013 and played his last match in 2019. He appeared on 33 occasions in International football and also has six international goals beside his name.
