Aston
Villa have signed Ross Barkley on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
The England international becomes Villa's fifth signing of the window,
following the arrivals of Ollie Watkins, Bertrand Traore, Emiliano Martinez
and Matty Cash.
After securing Barkley's signature, Villa head coach Dean Smith told the
club's website: "Capturing a player of Ross' quality is a real coup for our
club and I am certain he will thrive here and improve our team."
Barkley was part of the Chelsea squad that exited the Carabao Cup on
penalties at Tottenham on Tuesday night, although he was not brought off the
bench by Frank Lampard.
He made 31 appearances in all competitions for the Blues last season but
struggled to hold down a regular starting place amid competition from Mateo
Kovacic, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Chelsea's signing of Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen during this window
was likely to make it even harder for Barkley to get regular game-time at
Stamford Bridge.
Villa have made a strong start to the season, winning all four of their
matches so far, and Barkley's arrival will boost a midfield that already
boasts the talents of Jack Grealish, John McGinn and Conor Hourihane.
The Midlands side were also interested in taking Chelsea midfielder Ruben
Loftus-Cheek - who has been left out of the Blues' last four squads - on
loan.
However, Villa are now unable to sign the 24-year-old as Premier League
clubs are only allowed to sign one player on loan from each other at any
time.
Summer transfer window - key dates and
times
The summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday, October 5 with a feast
of activity lined up on Transfer Deadline Day on Sky Sports News and across
our Sky Sports platforms.
A domestic-only window for deals between the Premier League and EFL then
runs from October 5 and closes on Friday, October 16 at 5pm. Follow all the
news and analysis on SSN and across Sky Sports' digital platforms, including
with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.
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