EXCLUSIVE: Aston Villa not happy with midfielder, as West Ham register interest

TEAMtalk can reveal West Ham boss David Moyes has added Ross Barkley to his list of summer targets after Aston Villa told Chelsea they are not looking to sign the player on a permanent basis.
Barkley, 27, joined Villa in the summer, and at the time was determined to prove then Chelsea boss Frank Lampard was wrong to loan him out. Barkley began his spell at Villa Park in brilliant style and emerged as one of the form players in the league. He linked up amazingly well with fellow England international Jack Grealish.
Lampard even admitted that he was watching him closely and would give him another chance at Stamford Bridge if the opportunity arose. Things though have gone awry since turn of the year and gone off track.
Lampard was booted out at Chelsea and Barkley’s form has disappeared. And sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Villa are less than pleased with some of the off-field antics of the former Everton star.
Barkley was dropped to the bench for last month’s win over Leeds with Dean Smith explaining his form had dropped off.
“We decided to change it at Leeds knowing the way Leeds played,” Smith said.
“I didn’t think Ross and Douglas [Luiz, who was also dropped] had probably played to their standards in the previous game against Leicester and I thought it was time to have a little change.
“But Ross is fit and available and in contention to start against Sheffield United.”
Subscribe for free to TEAMtalk’s daily newsletter…
Chelsea open to Barkley moving on
Barkley has not started a game since. He has been limited to sub appearances in five of the last six games, and did not feature against Fulham.
Now Barkley looks to be heading back to the capital this summer. And we understand that whilst Thomas Tuchel is open to him competing for a place in his squad, he will not stand in his way. And there is interest in the midfielder.
A host of Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on his situation. We can reveal that one of those is West Ham. Moyes is of course now in charge there and that option does appeal to Barkley.
Moyes was the man to give him his debut at Everton back in 2011. And the pair could very well get the chance to reunite at the London Stadium.
READ MORE: Pundit labels Aston Villa midfielder a ‘disappointment’ after promising start