Barkley had Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek ahead of him in the pecking order in Thomas Tuchel’s midfield.
Having not made a single appearance for the Blues this season, Barkley had to resign himself to not being part of Tuchel’s plans moving forward.
Barkley, therefore, agreed to leave Chelsea by mutual consent, nearly five years after joining the Blues from Everton in January of 2018, becoming a free agent in the process.
The Everton youth product found game time hard to come by during the 2021/22 campaign, as he was either left on the bench or not included in the matchday squad altogether across as many as six competitions.
Barkley had only 14 appearances to his name during last season, adding up to a little over 450 minutes, scoring the solitary goal, and overall, he recorded 12 goals and eleven assists from 100 appearances in all competitions for the Blues.
He has interest from Scottish giants Rangers and as a free agent is likely to be an even more attractive prospect.
Rangers are in the market for a versatile midfielder after Joe Aribo’s departure for Southampton and now have extra funds from reaching the Champions League.
It remains to be seen where Barkley plies his trade this season after leaving the Blues.
