The midfielder joined Chelsea from boyhood club Everton in January 2018 and has made 86 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring 11 goals. That includes the one he netted during the current campaign, in the 6-0 Carabao Cup win over Barnsley at Stamford Bridge.

However, with competition for places in our midfield particularly fierce, that was his only start in the opening matches of the season, as his two Premier League appearances both came from the bench.

After a slow start to his Chelsea career due to injuries, Barkley signalled his return to fitness in his first full season with the club, memorably scoring our injury-time equaliser against Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United at the Bridge. He also appeared in our successful Europa League campaign, scoring in the shoot-out victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the semis and coming off the bench in the final against Arsenal in Baku.

Although often as a substitute last season as our head coach rotated his side, Barkley did play a big part in helping us reach the FA Cup final by finding the net against Liverpool and, crucially, getting the only goal of the quarter-final at Leicester City.

Barkley will spend the rest of this season at Villa Park, where Chelsea legend John Terry is assistant to manager Dean Smith. The Birmingham-based side have started their second campaign back in the top flight well with a 100 per cent record at this early stage, beating Sheffield United and Fulham without conceding a goal. They next face Stoke City in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Thursday, before hosting Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.