Under Maurizio Sarri, Ross Barkley seems to found his mojo, and the secret to that lies in shedding the tag of the next big thing.
I completely understand why Antonio Conte spent most of last season sulking around Cobham. He was keen to build on the successes of 2016/17 while the board were content to rest on their laurels and bring in Danny Drinkwater. It wasn’t the former Leicester midfielder that signalled the beginning of the end for the Italian tactician, however. It was the signing of Mersey Messi, Ross Barkley.
It was a strange move. There was simply no place for Barkley in Conte’s 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. The English international’s questionable decision-making and lack of tactical awareness also made it an odd fit. It turns out, though, that the Liverpudlian is a fine fit for Maurizio Sarri’s midfield with his ability to progress the ball and unsettle opponents with his flair and physicality. When Barkley arrived in January, Conte was smart enough to see that Chelsea was building a midfield for his successor.
And Sarri’s midfield is one of the most intriguing in the Premier League. There is Jorginho as the exotic regista and the ongoing project to transform N’Golo Kante into a swashbuckling number eight. But there is also the left-sided midfielder, usually Mateo Kovacic, who gets the joyous task of combining with Eden Hazard. The Croatian seems to be first choice at the moment, but Barkley’s two goals in the last two fixtures could change that.