Aston Villa have started talks to sign “special” Barkley upgrade in £30m deal

Aston Villa‘s performance against Tottenham Hotspur was abject, and though Unai Emery sought to ring the changes ahead of the Europa League semi-final tie on Thursday, Nottingham Forest’s win at Stamford Bridge shows that it wasn’t good enough.

It was a sorry display, and Emery cut a frustrated figure post match after his heavy rotation fell flat against a hungry Spurs side, desperate to escape from the relegation zone, and so they did.

Aston Villa might not be in the finest form, but there is still a lot to play for this season, and given that they are still in fifth place in the Premier League, they should be able to attact some big names in the summer transfer market.

Aston Villa in talks for Liverpool midfielder

Aston Villa weren’t good enough against Tottenham, and though they remain an impressively gritty and attritional outfit, there’s no question that the Lions have lost their sparkle and bite over the past several months.

Improvements are needed. While Emery rotated, the likes of Ross Barkley are struggling, frustrated by the ponderous nature of their team’s football.

Barkley is 32, and Championship club Sheffield United are interested in bringing him down into the second tier this summer. The veteran is out of contract this summer, and Emery seems keen on replacing him with another lad from Merseyside.

According to TEAMtalk, Aston Villa are still interested in signing Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, though they will face stiff competition for the 24-year-old from Newcastle United.

Valued at £30m, Jones has struggled for minutes under Arne Slot, and now he is looking for a new home that could provide him with a starring role. Villa have already engaged in talks with this representatives, so this is certainly one to keep an eye on moving forward.

Aston Villa have come a long way, and their probable ticket into the Champions League could tempt Jones to move to the Midlands.

Why Curtis Jones could replace Barkley at Villa

Jones, a lifelong Liverpool fan who has only ever known football for the Reds, needs to play regular starting football in the Premier League, and Aston Villa could give him that.

Jones is underappreciated at Liverpool, still hailed for his “truly special” skill set by one eagle-eyed analyst. He sometimes holds onto the ball for too long, a little hesitant, but he’s still one of the most progressive midfielders in the Premier League, completing 94% of his passes while ranking among the top 16% for accurate long balls and the top 10% for successful dribbles per 90.

That tells us that Jones is a natural-born technician, so confident and crisp on the ball. Moreover, his athleticism and hunger to influence would allow him to slot into Barkley’s role at Villa Park.

After all, Jones has been hailed as as “one of the most underrated players in England” by one Premier League analyst.

Barkley might have passed his peak, but he’s still a progressive player. This season, for example, he has completed 67% of his dribbles in the Premier League, further evidence that Jones is the right man to replace him and dynamise and develop Emery’s system.

13 Premier League starts across the current campaign is not good enough for a talented midfielder such as Jones, and so it’s understandable that he should be agitating to leave, especially when his midfield peers at Anfield has been so shoddy throughout the year.

Barkley has been an industrious servant for the Villans, but he’s well past his best now. It’s the right time for him to move on. Jones could be a shrewd replacement, someone who could actually develop into a mainstay for this ambitious Premier League project.