Alan Pardew has been left impressed by the career revival of a player who has signed for Aston Villa this summer.
After Aston Villa successfully complied with the PSR deadline of 30th June Unai Emery and Monchi have been hard at work securing transfer targets to improve the squad.
That has seen some high-profile arrivals at the club, with the likes of Ian Maatsen and Samuel Iling-Junior expected to be imminently joined by the £50 million arrival of Amadou Onana.
Despite this, Alan Pardew believes it is a signing that may have gone somewhat under the radar that could prove to be really good business as the former Crystal Palace manager spoke about £5 million-man Ross Barkley.
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Alan Pardew compares Dele Alli situation to Aston Villa signing Ross Barkley
Pardew has seen it all in his time as a manager, overseeing clubs such as West Ham, Newcastle United and, most recently, Aris Thessaloniki in Greece.
A regular guest on TalkSPORT, Pardew was on the radio station on Sunday night where he spoke on the situation surrounding Dele Alli.
Alli has had a torrid few years but claimed to Gary Neville on The Overlap last year that he has a daily notification counting down to the 2026 World Cup as motivation to make a return.
Speaking on this, Pardew cited Barkley as an example of why this is possible, saying: “I would have said the same about Ross Barkley 12 months ago. I would have said I don’t think he will be coming back.
“So, it can happen. Ross Barkley proved everybody wrong. He was brilliant last year and now gets a move.”
Barkley could be key for Aston Villa this season
Having seen his career threaten to drift away after joining Nice from Chelsea in summer 2022, Barkley made a surprise Premier League return for newly-promoted Luton Town last season.
A bold move for a player who clearly just wanted to find a club that could help him get back to his best away from the spotlight, it proved an inspired decision.
Despite Luton’s struggles and subsequent relegation, Barkley stood out on a weekly basis operating in a new role as a holing midfielder under Rob Edwards.
His fine displays last campaign convinced Emery to bring him back to Villa Park where he spent the 2020/21 season on loan and he could quickly become key for the Spaniard.
With the departure of Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara missing the start of the season with an ACL injury and new signing Enzo Barrenechea expected to need some time to adapt, it could well be Barkley that holds the fort in the Villa midfield.
If last season’s performances are anything to go by, this is something the 30-year-old is more than capable of doing.
