Aston Villa 'on course' for signing despite Everton interest as Wolves move for ace compared to Ashley Cole

Aston Villa will face opposition from Everton to secure the signature of Luton Town ace Ross Barkley, according to reports from Football Insider.

Barkley is a product of the Toffees academy who burst onto the scene at the age of 20 when his then manager Roberto Martinez compared his playing style to the likes of Michael Ballack and Paul Gascoigne. That same season, Barkley was selected for the England national team and made the plane for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with Frank Lampard comparing him to a young Wayne Rooney.

The midfielder dubbed a special talent by Gary Lineker went on to become an integral part of the Everton team for years to come before joining Chelsea on a cut-price £15m deal in January 2018. Due to a combination of injuries and form, the midfielder never made the grade at Stamford Bridge, but during a one-year loan spell at Villa Park in 2020/21 he showed flashes of his potential again, scoring three times in 24 appearances.

After an injury-hit period, Barkley showed that he was back to his best at Luton Town, prompting Villa boss Unai Emery to push to re-sign the 30-year-old as he looks to bolster his squad depth for a challenging Champions League campaign. Football Insider believes that Aston Villa remain Barkley’s preferred option despite the England international’s emotional connection with the Goodison Park club. 

The outlet understands that the West Midlands side will be able to sign Barkley on a free transfer - adding that his existing Luton contract includes a 12 month extension option, but also a clause which would allow him to move for free if the Hatters were relegated.

Wolves interested in signing Premier League star once compared to Ashley Cole

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil is pushing to sign injury-hit Tottenham left back Ryan Sessegnon this summer, according to reports from MolineuxNews. The outlet understands that O’Neil is keen to bolster his squad depth after a drop-off in form at the end of last season due to injuries.

Sessegnon has struggled with various injury issues himself in recent times, but is seen as a viable option to compete with Rayan Ait-Nouri due to the potential that he had shown earlier in his career. The 24-year-old rose to prominence at Fulham when he was just 16-years-old and immediately made an impact as he became the first player born in the 2000s to ever score in a Premier League match.

Sessegnon was lauded for his versatility to play both as a left back and as a winger, and his praised for being a constant attacking threat who could beat defenders with ease and produce excellent delivery from crosses. In the 2017/18 campaign he scored a remarkable 15 goals and provided six assists from left back as Fulham won the Championship play-offs and earned their place back in the Premier League.

The youngster, who was considered an outsider for Gareth Southgate’s 2018 World Cup squad was compared to Ashley Cole by Spurs boss Jose Mourinho when he signed him in 2019.

“I think Ryan can play as a left-back. Probably the left-back in the last decade was Ashley Cole, in spite of him being from two enemy clubs, but he was fantastic. But Ryan has lots of similarities with Ashley, and he can learn how to defend. In the future I think he can be (a left-back) but in this moment he is not ready to play as a left-back.” Mourinho explained.

Unfortunately Sessegnon’s progress since that time has been halted by various injury issues and he is yet to play a game since the arrival of new boss Ange Postecoglou. Postecoglou has hinted at ‘wholescale changes’ at Tottenham and has told the media that a number of players will be sold to facilitate new arrivals. Sessegnon is suspected to be one of those and he has just one year remaining on his existing contract in North London, meaning he will be available for a cut-price fee.