Barkley, 30, played for Aston Villa during the 2020-21 season alongside the likes of Grealish and McGinn in Villa's second season back in the Premier League following promotion. Barkley made a fast start in Claret and Blue and scored in Villa's famous 7-2 win against Liverpool at Villa Park.
Barkley's form dipped however during the second half of the season before heading back to Chelsea at the end of the loan. His performances for Luton this season however has resulted in Villa reigniting their interest in Barkley and Unai Emery sees him as a player that would do very well within the current squad.
Barkley was a regular in the Luton line-up this season, playing 32 games and scoring 5 goals whilst also registering 4 assists. The midfielder has impressed with his performances this season and his ability to pick the ball up deep in midfield and drive his team up the pitch has seen Luton create and score a large amount of goals in comparison to their relegation rivals. When asked for thoughts on his future a few weeks ago, Barkley had this to say:
"I want to play in the Premier League and and want to play in Europe again. I feel like I'm still in my prime years."Ross Barkley
The 30-year-old, who has 33 England caps to his name, could prove to be an intelligent signing for a club looking to increase their squad depth without spending over the odds on new signings. Should the deal go through the similarities will be drawn to Villa's signing of Your Tielemans last summer who was signed on a free transfer following the end of his contract at Leicester City. With Villa needing to be careful with regards to FFP and Profit and Sustainability rules, this could be a clever signing that would have very little impact on Villa's accounts.
Villa have a number of players who they will be looking to offload this summer in order to help balance the books and allow for further signings. Philippe Coutinho will be returning from his loan spell in Qatar Villa will be keen to offload the Brazilian permanently due to his very high wages (£125,000 a week).
The club are also reportedly keen to listen to offers for defender Diego Carlos, who also has very high wages, and Milan are a club showing interest in him. Cameron Archer is also likely to be shown the exit door at Villa Park following his return to the club after Sheffield United's relegation.
One player that looks set to stay at Villa Park despite a number of rumours that had previously suggested otherwise is Jacob Ramsey. Ramsey has had a frustrating injury-hit season and a number of fans seem to believe that Ramsey would be the one to depart should funds need to be raised. However, John Percy of The Telegraph has claimed that Ramsey has no desire to leave the club and wants to represent his boyhood team in the Champions League next term.
Barkley would be the first of, potentially, a number of signings by Unai Emery this summer and one that would excite the fans based on his excellent form this season. Reports this week have also suggested that Aston Villa will make a move to sign Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher.