Ross Barkley has again been linked with a potential return to Everton in the January transfer window but as much as many Blues are against the idea of the midfielder coming back, would such a move actually make sense from a footballing point of view?
Raised in Wavertree, Barkley was a home-grown hero for Evertonians during his time playing for the club he’d supported all his life but he departed Goodison Park under acrimonious circumstances in January 2018, joining Chelsea for £15million, having snubbed the same switch in the previous window in a deal that would have banked the Blues an extra £20million.
Almost four years on, Barkley was again on the receiving end of a barrage of taunts from travelling Everton fans during the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier this month but an article in the Daily Telegraph claims that Rafa Benitez is considering the player among his January loan targets.
Just as ex-Liverpool manager Benitez himself was a hugely controversial choice as Blues boss, so a second coming of Barkley as Everton’s latest Prodigal Son would upset many.
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Even if fans can somehow emotionally detach themselves from all the baggage that would come with a Barkley return, concerns remain over just how much a player whose decision-making skills often came under scrutiny has actually developed.
Now 28, despite his huge natural talent, he has often found himself in and out of the side in west London and spent last season on loan at Aston Villa.
However, given that Benitez has admitted that his side have issues with creativity when on the ball, declaring earlier this month after the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace: “We are not amazing in possession – it’s a fact we have to realise,” could Barkley provide that missing spark?
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When looking at how he stacks up with fellow attacking midfielders in the Premier League, Comparisonator shows that Barkley is the number one player in the whole division for several passing parameters.
He leads the way for overall passing with 60.9 per game, ahead of West Ham United’s Manuel Lanzini (57.32) and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (51.99).
Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard is fourth on 49.26 and it’s perhaps telling that Barkley is ahead of Chelsea team-mates Mason Mount (43.55) and Hakim Ziyech (40.34) in fifth and sixth respectively.
Barkley’s creative powers are also demonstrated by the fact he leads the way for the successful key passes average at 2.03 per 90 minutes which, albeit from a smaller sample, is almost twice as many as nearest challenger and fellow Chelsea man Ziyech on 1.13 while third place Fernandes of Manchester United (1.04) is the only other player averaging above one.
Penetration into the opposition’s danger zone is also in Barkley’s repertoire as he is top of the pile for both passes into the final third (35.86) and successful passes into the final third (29.77).
When he’s on the pitch, Barkley is also getting on the ball more than any of his peers as he’s ranked number one for received passes (60.9 per game), well ahead of Fernandes of Manchester United in second on 47.53 and Chelsea colleague Mount in third on 45.72.
His ability to deliver killer balls also puts Barkley on top for expected assists with 1.08 per 90 minutes, again considerably more than number two Ziyech on 0.61 while another Stamford Bridge team-mate Callum Hudson-Odoi is third with 0.52.
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Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
