24 AUGUST 2018 • 5:40 PM
It was in 2014 when Chelsea were forced to seriously contemplate the unthinkable and come up with a plan to replace John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard.
The club knew that Cole and Lampard would be leaving that summer, and were also aware Terry was winding towards the end of his Chelsea career, even though the defender carried on at Stamford Bridge for another three years.
Of the three players they came up with to succeed the legendary trio, Chelsea missed out on John Stones and Luke Shaw, but Ross Barkley finally arrived, four years later, in January.
Having turned 24 a month earlier, Barkley was just over a year older than Lampard had been when he moved from West Ham United back in 2001.
“I can see why the club were thinking of me in that way at the time,” said Barkley, who was given Lampard’s old Chelsea number eight shirt. “Frank is an example for me. He joined the club at a similar age to me and was at a similar stage of his career.”
Both Barkley and Lampard had played 196 senior games, including loan spells, before joining Chelsea, with Lampard scoring nine more goals than Barkley who arrived at Stamford Bridge with 31 to his name.
Lampard went on to become Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer and one of the best players in the club’s history. It would be unfair to place similar expectation on Barkley, but the example is there to grasp his big chance.
“He’s someone to look at with the success he achieved for the club and for himself,” said Barkley. “I’ve played with Frank and I saw what he was like around England, and how much of a top professional he was.
“He was an idol of mine from when I was a young lad, watching Champions League games and seeing the goals he scored. If I could achieve half of what he did here, then that would be a success.”
Barkley’s best goals tally in a season is 12, for Everton in 2015/16, but he insists that, like Lampard, he can become prolific from midfield.
“I believe I can hit the 20 goals a season mark,” said Barkley. “It’s a lot, but it’s achievable. You see Lamps do it and Stevie G, and Scholes. It’s just starting in training first, scoring goals there and practising every day.”
It is another of Chelsea’s legends, Gianfranco Zola who returned to the cub as assistant to head coach Maurizio Sarri, who is helping Barkley to try to achieve his aim.
“I like to stay out after training and do some finishing and practice my free-kicks and things, and Gianfranco stays out with me,” he said. “He helps out a lot, telling me little things that used to work for him. He’s still got it.”
Chelsea’s interest in Barkley stretches back three years before he was listed as the preferred successor to Lampard, when they first started to track him as a 17-year-old.
Club scouts watched Barkley during Everton’s 2011/12 pre-season campaign and, two years later, Chelsea made an offer to sign him and loan the player back to the Goodison Park club.
“I wasn’t aware of that until I came to talk to the club and it got mentioned to me,” he said. “Through hearing that, that’s what made my mind up to join because they had been following me for years and knew what I could do. It’s really good and it was attractive for me to hear.”
Chelsea’s long courtship of Barkley was prolonged even further, when, after agreeing a fee with Everton at the end of last summer’s transfer window, he decided to stay put and get over the ruptured hamstring that prevented him making a single appearance during the first half of the season.
That could have been that, but Chelsea returned once again to finally sign Barkley for just £15million with just six months remaining on his Everton contract.
“My head wasn’t right at the time with my injury,” he said. “I was still wearing a brace on my leg, which I had to sleep in, and I was on crutches. I didn’t want to join and just have to watch all the other lads training. I needed to focus on getting back fit.
“When they came back in, my mind was a lot clearer and I had decided the time was right for me to leave Everton and to take the step and join Chelsea.
“I felt I was in a comfort zone (at Everton). I had turned 24 and every year Chelsea challenge for trophies, and as a young player I always wanted to win things.
“Chelsea are always competing to win things and that was my thought to push myself and reach a new level. And get to a level that I haven’t been at, but that I know I am capable of getting to.”
The move to Chelsea brought an end to a difficult 18 months for Barkley, who returned from Euro 2016 having not played a single minute for England. He was then threatened with being frozen out by former Everton manager Ronald Koeman and was attacked in a bar before suffering a serious hamstring injury on the eve of last season.
“It was difficult time for me, but the way my mum brought me up is to just keep my head down and keep working hard, and things will turn out for the better,” said Barkley.
“I went to the Euros and didn’t play, then I had some tough love under Ronald and when I ruptured my hamstring my head was up the wall. The last couple of years I’ve learned a lot about myself and I’ve improved, and it’s just about me now showing it on the pitch.”
Barkley made four appearances for Chelsea last term, but the hope around the club was always that he would be in a position to take a more active part this season.
That has certainly been the case so far, as Barkley started both of Chelsea’s opening Premier League victories against Huddersfield Town and Arsenal. Against the Gunners, he was the only Englishman on the pitch when the game kicked off but, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Newcastle United, he faces competition from loan signing Mateo Kovacic.
“It was important for me to start the season well which I have done,” said Barkley. “But it’s only the start and I’ve got to start getting goals and assists, and keep improving.
“I believe in my ability and I believe that through hard work things will pay off and be good for me. I have only just started, playing in pre-season and the first couple of games, and there is a lot of success to come.”
Just as striking as his encouraging performances has been Barkley’s physique. He believes he is fitter than ever and has benefited from hiring a personal chef while he was out injured.
“I was always a good cook from my mum showing me when I was a young lad, but hiring a chef helped me to understand food better,” said Barkley. “I used to be really fussy, I just used to eat chicken or steak. I didn’t really eat fish, but I eat a lot of it now.”
Gareth Southgate names his England squad for the UEFA Nations League games against Spain and Switzerland on Thursday.
It has been more than two years since Barkley last kicked a ball for England and, in March last year, his frustration boiled over as he highlighted the fact he had not played a single minute for his country over the course of seven call-ups.
“It was more frustration knowing what I had done behind the scenes and in training, and it’s just hard to be in a squad and not be a part of the games when you believe you can add something,” said Barkley.
“I believe I am good enough to play for England and I think I can add something to the team, but that’s up to Gareth. I will just keep working hard and the Euros in 2020 are my big aim.”
One of Barkley’s closest friends has shown him how quickly things can turn around for club and country, and he is aiming to now take a similar path to that of Stones at Manchester City.
“I’m very close with Stonesy and I speak to him most weeks about football and life, and how it was for him when he first joined City,” said Barkley.
“He went through a difficult spell, but he has a similar approach to me and he believes in himself, just as I do in myself. He scored twice at the World Cup. This time last year, he didn’t start for England. It just shows you. He’s an inspiration for me.”
