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Despite being long-term admirers of the midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur allowed Chelsea to sign Ross Barkley in a £15m deal during the January transfer window at the start of 2018, and it is surely a decision that they must be regretting right now.
What’s the word, then?
The Evening Standard reported back in January that Spurs decided not to rival their London neighbours for the England international’s signature because they believed that they could sign better players in the summer – something that obviously didn’t turn out to be the case seeing as they didn’t bring in anyone at all.
Their decision looked to have been vindicated when he struggled to make an impact under Antonio Conte and suffered from more injury issues, but he has already visibly been transformed under new boss Maurizio Sarri.
The 24-year-old hasn’t been a regular in the starting XI, but he has made a big impact when he has been on the pitch – he produced a goal and an assist when he was given the nod from the beginning in the 3-0 win against Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday.
Why should they regret their decision?
His display against Saints led to teammate Eden Hazard claiming that he has the quality to be one of the best midfielders in the world, and that in itself should be worrying for the north London outfit.
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As long as he can steer clear of injuries, it appears as though the former Everton ace is ready to star in a more central attacking midfield role in Sarri’s preferred 4-3-3 formation, and he may well have cemented his spot in the starting XI for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Tottenham may have made their best-ever start to a Premier League campaign themselves but they showed how short of creativity they are without Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli against Cardiff City on Saturday, and not only would Barkley have been a great addition for them right now, he would have been in the long-term too.
