Ross
Barkley was only a few weeks into his Chelsea career when he found himself
on the receiving end of a public humiliation by Antonio Conte. The
24-year-old had just performed poorly in his first appearance for the club
against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, with Conte taking exception to how
long it had taken him to get ready following a first-half injury to Willian.
"It is not simple," said the Italian in his post-match press conference,
"especially when on the bench the only substitute is Ross Barkley."
Perhaps Conte's comments were lost in translation - perhaps he did not
intend them to sound as harsh as they did - but they certainly set the tone
for Barkley's first few months at Chelsea. The midfielder, who had not
played all season having suffered a serious hamstring injury at Everton,
only made three further appearances before the end of the campaign.
Barkley's hopes of a late push for England's World Cup squad evaporated and
his Chelsea future became uncertain, but 10 months on from that
disappointing evening at the Emirates, his career is transformed. Barkley
forced his way into Maurizio Sarri's plans after an impressive pre-season
campaign with Chelsea, and he has returned to the England team, too.
Barkley made his first international start in two years against Croatia and
kept his place in Gareth Southgate's team for the 3-2 win over Spain, and
back at Chelsea there have been goals and assists against Southampton,
Manchester United and now Burnley.
His performance in Sunday's 4-0 win at Turf Moor was his most effective yet.
Barkley set up Alvaro Morata's opener with a cute through ball, then fired
home the second goal himself with a precise shot from long range. Barkley
added his second assist of the game for Willian's strike and ended the game
with the man-of-the-match award.
Barkley has now contributed three goals and three assists in just 391
minutes of Premier League action. It is already shaping up to be the most
productive season of his career, but Barkley has always had the guile to
create chances and score goals. It's the improvement of other areas of his
game which most strongly suggests that he could finally fulfil his
potential.
Sarri has pinpointed his "physical condition" as one of the biggest factors
behind his improvement. Barkley has not always been known for his work
ethic, but it was notable he ran just shy of 12km against Burnley - the same
distance as the indefatigable N'Golo Kante. On average, he is covering a
kilometre and a half more per 90 minutes than he did at Everton.
"He's fitter, stronger and maybe that is something to do with what we are
seeing now at Chelsea," said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher on Monday
Night Football this week.
"I have done everything I could perfectly," Barkley explained back in July.
"I felt strong towards the end of the season and then, in the off-season,
worked hard with the strength and conditioning coach. I got myself really
fit just to give myself a head start. I am really prepared and I feel at
home with the team now."
Barkley's extra work is paying off but his progress is down to mindset as
well as fitness. Earlier this season, Sarri said Barkley could become a
"complete" player if he improved defensively and tactically, and recent
evidence suggests he has. Barkley is still driving into the box when
opportunity allows, but he is also showing positional discipline off the
ball.
"He has improved the defensive phase," said Sarri on Sunday. "Now I think
Ross is complete."
Crucially, Barkley has improved his decision-making, too. It is only 18
months since Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness described him as a "kid in the
playground" after a poor display for Everton in a Merseyside derby defeat at
Anfield. "He runs with it when he should pass it, he passes it when he
should run with it," he added. "His decision-making is poor in the extreme."
But Barkley appears to be maturing. He created four scoring chances against
Burnley - more than any other player on the pitch - but what is most
impressive is that he did it while barely wasting a pass. Over the course of
the 90 minutes, he completed 91 passes out of 96.
It was not the first time this season his efficiency in possession has stood
out. After nine games of the campaign, he has completed a higher percentage
of his passes than Jorginho. His 92 per cent accuracy rate is a considerable
improvement on previous seasons and places him among the top five players in
the Premier League this season.
Barkley is resisting the urge to embark on risky dribbles, too. Across his
six seasons at Everton, he attempted five per 90 minutes, but under Sarri
that number has dropped to just 1.4. Barkley's impulsiveness held him back
in the past, but he is choosing his moments now and it's easy to see why he
is keeping Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek out of the team.
"I've matured," he said recently. "I understand the game much more, which
can be natural as you grow up. I'm 24 now and I understand the game. I am at
a big club now with a lot of expectation and fantastic players around me,
and my performances are showing it."
The challenge for Barkley now is to sustain his recent improvement, but he
has already left that miserable evening at the Emirates Stadium behind him.
Barkley is maturing at Chelsea. Both club and player are feeling the
benefits.
It would be great for the club. For me personally, I am doing my job, so to
come up against Maurizio Sarri and a fantastic Chelsea side at a place that
I call home - to win there I would of course be proud of the team, very
proud because there is a lot of work that goes into preparing for this game.
But I, of course, go here with the intention of winning the game…
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