DONE DEAL: Aston Villa completes the signing of Ross Barkley from Luton Town

Ross Barkley showed glimpses of brilliance when he was on loan under Dean Smith four seasons ago,

so it’s not surprising that Unai Emery wants to add him to his team this summer after he consistently found his form at Luton Town last season.

Villa has to give Emery additional options, but even if the club’s early summer activity has been guided by Profit and Sustainability Rules,

Barkley’s signing makes a lot of sense. Douglas Luiz’s departure was planned for 18 months,

and when Youri Tielemans was transferred for free last summer,

Villa think Barkley—whom Emery saw in person to explore a move—will also be a wise addition.

After leaving Everton in 2018, Barkley’s career had been on the downswing as he was unable to have a significant effect at Chelsea.

After a season on loan at Villa Park, where he played well in his first six league games until a hamstring injury seemed to hinder

the remainder of his campaign, he returned to Stamford Bridge for one more season.

Barkley didn’t take long to accept Luton’s offer after a brief chat with Rob Edwards,

who explained how he wanted to get the former Everton star back to the same level he showed at Goodison Park earlier in his career.

The 30-year-old believes he will still be in his prime for another three years and only a few months ago said:

“I want to play in the Premier League. I want to play in Europe again.”

operating around a number nine, often Romelu Lukaku.

But at Luton, he demonstrated how he can play in a deeper position and influence the game in front of the defence.

Due to Luton’s lack of ability to control matches – which meant Barkley couldn’t get on the ball in the final third too often –

he was deployed in a deeper role and flourished. As Barkley was getting on the ball more,

it allowed his team to sustain pressure, otherwise it would have been a challenge to generate any meaningful build-up.

Barkley frequently filled the role of regista, which is to play immediately in front of the backline.

As a result, he was given the responsibility of setting the game’s pace, creating plays,

and moving the ball while the opposition was applying pressure.

his positional awareness enables him to assume responsibility during the initial phase of possession.

Despite all of Barkley’s strengths when in control, he was unable to function in a two-man midfield without his partner’s defensive support.

During the previous season, he outperformed McGinn, Tielemans, and Luiz in terms of interceptions (25)

thanks to his great positional discipline for Luton. In addition, he committed fewer fouls (25) than McGinn (39),

Luiz (51) and the three Villa players put together. He also won more aerial duels (42).

Because of his ability to sprint quickly and intensely to close down an opponent and regain control,

Barkley can also win the ball back higher up the pitch. He discovered the value of pressing and counter-pressing in Nice.

“To be honest, I learned a lot at Nice, even if I

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