Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp has recently discussed Aston Villa’s Ross Barkley and his future with England.
In the recent transfer window, the English midfielder arrived at Villa Park on a season-long loan from fellow Premier League outfit Chelsea (per BBC).
Since his arrival in the Midlands, the £19.35m-rated man has bagged two goals and one assist during five league appearances for the Villans (per Transfermarkt).
During his international career, the 26-year-old middleman has made 33 appearances for the Three Lions in which he has bagged six goals.
In a recent episode of The Sky Sports Football Podcast, Redknapp discussed Barkley’s international career and backed him to revive it.
He said: “Listening to me talking, I’m sure you can gather, in the midfield position, I don’t want straight-up-and-down players, I feel you need someone different.
“And in someone like Ross Barkley, of course, you need that consistency, but he offers us something completely different who’ll run and drive with the ball. I’m pleased he’s playing regularly.
“Now, for someone like Ross, I don’t think, right now, you’d say that [he] is better than the ones that we’ve got but he’s now playing in a team that are doing well and winning.
“If I’m Ross Barkley now, I’m thinking, ‘Right, Christmas is coming up, by February/March I want to be knocking on that door for the squad. I want to be back in that England squad.'”
TIF Thoughts on what Jamie Redknapp said about Ross Barkley…
As can be seen in what the podcast pundit had to say, he believes that Barkley could revive his career with the Three Lions as he offers England “something completely different” to other midfielders.
Do you believe that Ross Barkley can get back into the England squad?
No, he's not that good
Yes, he's good enough
So far this season, Barkley has been the third-best performer in Dean Smith’s squad with a stellar 7.62/10 average performance rating in the top flight (per WhoScored).
The rating has made the Englishman the 13th-best performer of all of the players to play in the entirety of the Premier League this season.
So, should the middleman continue his impressive level of performances, then he may be able to attract the attention of Gareth Southgate, as Redknapp suggested.