Ross Barkley

Liverpool born Ross Barkley joined the Everton academy at the age of 11 in 2005, working his way up the youth system, making the bench for Everton during the 2010/11 season, with his Premier League debut being delayed as a result of a leg break while on England U19 duty. However, Ross recovered in time for the beginning of the 2011/12 season, playing his part as a bit part player for the Toffees across the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons, which were also punctuated with loans to Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds.

Those at Everton who saw Ross on a daily basis heralded him as the most talented player to have come through since Wayne Rooney, and superlatives such as "one of the best players we will ever in this Country" being used to describe the incredibly talented teenager. Ross' breakthrough season at Everton came in 2013/14 season, which saw him finishing up with a nomination for PFA Young Player of the Year award and most importantly an England call up. His time at Everton was punctuated with injuries, including 2017/18, his final season, where he couldn't add to his 179 appearances for the club.

His lack of appearances in the 2017/18 season carried through following his £15m transfer to Chelsea in the winter transfer window where he made 4 appearances at the end of the season. His move to Chelsea had been long in the works, however once at Stamford Bridge regular game time was hard to come by in the Premier League, with Chelsea having a large squad as well as various competitions, both Domestic and International to compete in. Ross was a key component in the Chelsea team that won the Europa League during the 2018/19 season, scoring in both legs of the round of 32 against Malmo.

By the 2020/21 season, Ross had fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea and moved out on loan to Aston Villa, returning to Chelsea for the 2021/22 season, where during his increasingly infrequent game time, he still made a century of appearances, making his 100th appearance scoring against Watford, which was also the final goal of the Roman Abramovich era at Stamford Bridge. Ross agreed to a mutual termination upon the conclusion of the 2021/22 season, leaving for pastures new at Nice on a one year deal on the South Coast of France.

Prior to the 2023/24 season, Ross deciding he needed to fall back in love with Football, he took a gamble joining newly promoted Luton Town, making his debut in a 3-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Although the start of the season was stop start for Ross and then punctuated with a minor injury, once Ross was back in the starting XI at Luton Town, he never looked back, putting in sensational performances in the middle of the park. A particular highlight was Ross grabbing his first goal for the Hatters, on his 30th birthday, during the memorable and combative 4-3 loss against Arsenal, with Ross scoring to put the Hatters 3-2 up on the night before a Declan Rice header deep in added time crushed dreams at Kenilworth Road. Sadly, Ross was unable to keep Luton Town from an immediate return to the Championship at the end of the season, but he did leave Hatters with many great memories and provoked debates as to whether he was the most talented player to have turned out for Luton Town.

Prior to the 2024/25 season, with Ross' career firmly back on track in English Football, his love for the beautiful game reignited and pundits licking their lips at his reinvention as a deeper lying midfielder, Ross got the move he deserved, with Champions League competing Aston Villa deciding to bring him back for much needed experience in both the Premier League and International competition.