Aston Villa have confirmed the arrival of Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley on a season-long loan, reports Gregg Evans.
The 26-year-old is Villa’s fifth signing of the summer, but their first in midfield.
What are the terms of the agreement?
Barkley has joined on a straight season-long loan deal, with no formal option to buy.
Villa will make a decision at the end of the campaign whether to bid for Barkley and turn the move into a permanent one.
Will he go straight into the starting XI?
Yes. The offer of regular game time helped convince Barkley to join.
He made just two substitute appearances in Chelsea's opening three Premier League games.
Barkley did score an impressive goal in his only start, a 6-0 win over Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, but didn't get on as Chelsea lost to Tottenham on penalties on Tuesday night.
Villa believe that he is a player who can take the club forward and help bolster a midfield that, while admittedly is already heavily-stacked in numbers, also lacks any real depth should one of the regulars of Douglas Luiz, John McGinn or Conor Hourihane become unavailable.
That said, Barkley is expected to now become an immediate part of the starting XI.
What other business do Villa have left?
Villa are still hoping to sign another attacker before the window closes.
Ideally, they would look to secure another loan deal, having already spent £45 million on Ollie Watkins and Bertrand Traore.
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