Ross Barkley

[john e]

How many of our existing midfielders would get a starting spot in that Chelsea squad? Good player that can't get regular football in a squad full of extremely good players.

We now have proper competition for the tree midfield places, which can only improve us.

Doug McGinn & Grealish

Only Grealish imo. Kante is better than Luiz and they have a number of players better than Mcginn.

I’m really excited by Barkley signing

It was a bit tongue in cheek mate

I’d have put in one of those smily face emojis but they don’t tend to come out on this forum

[Smithy]

He's the sort of player that will make the opposition think twice before automatically putting two men on Jack when he's in possession, because he's also capable of creating something if you give him time and space in the final third - and frankly, we've not really had that sort of player in the side in the entire time Jack's been a first team regular.  Teams have been free to double up on him without really being punished for doing so.

It's an exciting prospect, certainly. Not just what Ross will bring to the team directly, but how having another genuinely talented and creative player in midfield will give Jack a little more freedom, and perhaps a little less attention from opposition defences...

Bring it on!

[Lastfootstamper]

He’s precisely the type of player we need, good technique & can go at teams in the final third. Provided he’s up for it & I think he is, this is a good move for both.

Last night on Chelsea's bench, this morning he's training at Bodymoor Heath, and all smiles on the photos doing the rounds. I think he's up for it.

[rougegorge]

Given the travails and struggles of last season, getting someone of Barkley's stature would have seemed very unlikely, so that's a positive sign.

Many Chelsea fans seem aghast that he's gone rather than Loftus-Cheek or Mount!

[ktvillan]

Agree with Smithy, it's the potential to share the burden of creativity with Grealish that is an exciting thought - which I also think Traore can add to.  With less attention and more space and time Grealish could have a field day.

[mallo]

Happy with this - experience and can run all day and is a good presence - that’s a good strong midfield now that won’t get pushed around. Not really a gamble either and won’t need 10 games to bed in. Just a CB and another striker then ;-)

[London Villan]

So was he the ‘sit up and take notice’ signing that was spoken about then?

[Astnor]

I do think he did well in his welcome to us interview. He does see himself as a nr 8 in our team, no doubt about that.

[pauliewalnuts]

No reflection whatsoever on his ability - I think he's a good player - but in this picture at least, he looks about 43.

https://twitter.com/DeadlineDayLive/status/1311237731771723777/photo/1

[Monty]

No reflection whatsoever on his ability - I think he's a good player - but in this picture at least, he looks about 43.

https://twitter.com/DeadlineDayLive/status/1311237731771723777/photo/1

I'm really pleased with this. Getting (as I now am) too old to qualify for Lange's transfer policy, I'm starting to wonder if players look younger now than they did in, say, the 90s simply because I was younger then, or because they actually look younger now. I mean, I watch videos of Ronald Koeman when he was my age, and the dude still looks like a f***ing man back then, and I think 'there's no way I look that old, people must have looked older then'. Barkley, with his older face, proves that I'm right. That's what a 26 year old footballer should look like.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about or am I just rambling incoherently?

[Sexual Ealing]

No reflection whatsoever on his ability - I think he's a good player - but in this picture at least, he looks about 43.

https://twitter.com/DeadlineDayLive/status/1311237731771723777/photo/1

I'm really pleased with this. Getting (as I now am) too old to qualify for Lange's transfer policy, I'm starting to wonder if players look younger now than they did in, say, the 90s simply because I was younger then, or because they actually look younger now. I mean, I watch videos of Ronald Koeman when he was my age, and the dude still looks like a f***ing man back then, and I think 'there's no way I look that old, people must have looked older then'. Barkley, with his older face, proves that I'm right. That's what a 26 year old footballer should look like.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about or am I just rambling incoherently?

Nobody looks older than old footballers. I have no idea why, but a 36 year old player will always look three times as weathered as a 36 year old real life human. I'm 42 and balding and I look younger than Mark Hughes did when he was 27.

[cdbearsfan]

Ravanelli celebrated his 45th birthday when he was nine.

[dave.woodhall]

No reflection whatsoever on his ability - I think he's a good player - but in this picture at least, he looks about 43.

https://twitter.com/DeadlineDayLive/status/1311237731771723777/photo/1

I'm really pleased with this. Getting (as I now am) too old to qualify for Lange's transfer policy, I'm starting to wonder if players look younger now than they did in, say, the 90s simply because I was younger then, or because they actually look younger now. I mean, I watch videos of Ronald Koeman when he was my age, and the dude still looks like a f***ing man back then, and I think 'there's no way I look that old, people must have looked older then'. Barkley, with his older face, proves that I'm right. That's what a 26 year old footballer should look like.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about or am I just rambling incoherently?

Nobody looks older than old footballers. I have no idea why, but a 36 year old player will always look three times as weathered as a 36 year old real life human. I'm 42 and balding and I look younger than Mark Hughes did when he was 27.

And Wayne Rooney when he was 19.

[Tayls_7]

Nobby Stiles looked like he'd struggle to be considered a midfield engine in a walking football team.

[kippaxvilla2]

Looks like he’s wearing a syrup in that photo.