Ross Barkley’s Everton return and what went wrong after public fallout and £70m failure

Ross Barkley, who has struggled since leaving Everton, seems more like the man who blossomed at Everton when he returns to Goodison Park with Luton Town to face his boyhood team.

Today at Goodison Park, Everton will take on a very familiar opponent who is at last returning to his peak form.

Although Ross Barkley had already visited his cherished Goodson with Chelsea in 2019 and Aston Villa in 2021, he is returning today with Luton playing at their best. Barkley is starting to resemble the guy that lit up the top battle of England more than ten years ago. Since joining Luton on a free transfer from Nice, Barkley has two goals and an assist in the Premier League.

When David Moyes gave the Scouser his Everton debut against QPR on the first day of the 2011 season, he was barely 17 years old. Because of his faith in the young player, Moyes chose to pitch him in the middle of midfield rather than on the wing.

Roberto Martinez, Moyes’ replacement, saw him blossom and compared him to a cross between Michael Ballack and Paul Gascoigne. At the 2014 World Cup, Roy Hodgson gave him his England debut at the age of 19, and he played a crucial role for the Three Lions.

However, after Ronald Koeman took over as manager in 2016 after Martinez, his career took a turn for the worse. Instead of throwing an arm around Barkley like Martinez did, the haughty Dutchman started a very public altercation with him.

When he declined to sign a new contract with Everton and spent nearly £70 million on Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaasen to replace him, he raised doubts about his dedication. Barkley was fired from Goodison three months before being acquired by Chelsea in January 2018 for a bargain price of £15 million, therefore Koeman was unable to force Barkley to go.

Barkley’s career took a nosedive after he moved to Chelsea, despite the fact that his arrival was marred by a hamstring injury. Before Chelsea released him and he signed with Nice on a free agent two years later, he was loaned to Aston Villa in September 2020.

In August, he moved to Luton, the home of stray dogs and waifs, after realizing that Ligue 1 was not for him. After being turned around by Hatters manager Rob Edwards, he is now 30 years old and now resembles the player that shone for Everton all those years ago.

On his most recent visit back to Goodison, he might have thought he had something to prove, as Everton supporters jeered him for what he perceived to be a contrived move to Chelsea, which he returned to in 2021. In their thin midfield, Everton could definitely use him, and Blues manager Sean Dyche recalls seeing him at Nice when he was unemployed following his departure from Burnley in April 2022.

He believes Barkley may now blossom at Luton, where he has found a home. “He played for Nice and Ross kind of made his way through and around,” he remarked.

Since I was traveling and didn’t have a job, I really went over there to watch a game. I believe he was substitute that day.

“He’s still a very strong player, and he appears to have found a place in a team that, despite the fighting and all, undoubtedly offers him the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities.

“I don’t know him at all because he came here long before I did, but it appears that he’s found a club that he feels comfortable in.”