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Aston Villa: Gregg Evans drops claim on Ross Barkley

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Image for Aston Villa: Gregg Evans drops claim on Ross Barkley

Aston Villa journalist Gregg Evans has made a claim surrounding Villa midfielder Ross Barkley ahead of their clash with Wolves. 

This comes after Evans recently made an appearance on the latest episode of The Athletic’s Villa-themed 1874 podcast, where he spoke about a range of subjects concerning Dean Smith’s side.

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First up in this Gareth Barry quiz, which club did Villa sign the midfielder from?

On the subject of Barkley, who was named as an unused substitute for Villa’s 1-0 win over Leeds United and then played just 22 minutes of action during their recent 1-0 defeat against Sheffield United, Evans had this to say about the midfield man.

He said: “I like Barkley, I think he can still do a job for Villa in these latter stages of the season.

“He needs a goal, or he needs a standout performance, doesn’t he, it wouldn’t surprise me if he played against Wolves.”

Barkley joined Villa on a season-long loan deal from fellow Premier League side Chelsea back in September last year.

Since he arrived at the club, the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £19.35 million, has made 15 Premier League appearances for the Villans in which he has scored three goals and provided one assist along the way (per Transfermarkt).

TIF Thoughts on Gregg Evans’s comments on Barkley…

Given how Barkley managed to earn himself a higher match rating (6.29/10) for his cameo appearance against the Blades than Jacob Ramsey (6.08/10) – who Barkley replaced in the second half of the match – this could persuade Smith to drop Ramsey against Wolves at the weekend.

Do you think Barkley should start against Wolves?

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Yes

No

No

In our view, if Barkley does indeed start against Wolves and manages to put in a standout performance, this will not only give a big boost for the team while Jack Grealish is out injured, but also prove that Barkley’s short spell out of the team would have been beneficial for him.

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