Ross Barkley on England hopes, Luton Town and new midfield role

Luton Town midfielder Ross Barkley says he has gone “back in time” this season after a return to his best form with the Premier League newcomers.

A move to Kenilworth Road has seen him play the most league minutes he has in a season for seven years, and led to talk about an England recall.

“I feel like I’m in a good place again,” Barkley told BBC Sport.

“I don’t have to worry about anything else other than playing games and enjoying training and enjoying my matches and trying to help my team do as good as possible.”

Joining boyhood club Everton at the age of 11, Barkley made his debut for the club in 2011 when he was 18 and comparisons to Wayne Rooney naturally followed.

Roberto Martinez, Barkley’s manager at Goodison Park between 2013 and 2016, said the midfielder was “born to play football” and he featured in all three of England’s matches at the 2014 World Cup.

A £15m move to Chelsea in 2018 was described as a “fresh start” but Barkley left the Blues by mutual consent at the start of the 2022-23 season after just 100 appearances for the club.

After leaving Stamford Bridge, Sir Dave Brailsford convinced Barkley to join Nice, who are owned by Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos company.

But after just nine starts in 27 appearances in Ligue 1 last season, Barkley returned to England with Luton after their promotion to the Premier League.

Speaking to Football Focus, Barkley opened up on his form for Rob Edwards’ side this season, playing in a deeper role and his hopes of an England recall.

Barkley on ‘having a lot to prove’ at Luton after Nice

“I learned quite a lot [at Nice] to be honest, even though I felt like I should have played a lot more than I did there.

“I learned a lot off the ball. In France, they work hard on the defensive side of the game, really aggressive pressing.

“Some tackles I saw in training were dangerous, even some of the youngsters go right through the older players and didn’t even pick them up.

“I just felt like I had a lot to prove [before signing for Luton] and I missed my football and playing games.

“I feel like I’ve gone back in time now. I’ve not really played [as] much in the past three or four years as I feel like I deserved.

“The manager has helped me a lot since he came in, with his trust and communication. He’s got great man-management skills, great togetherness and he’s a great man as well.”

Barkley on new midfield role and having ‘no confidence in tackling’

Now aged 30 and with more than 250 Premier League games under his belt, Barkley has found recent success as a deeper-lying midfielder than he once was. This role is similar to one he played in youth football before breaking his leg on England Under-19 duty which led to him becoming an attacking midfielder.

“Coming to Luton, my intentions were not playing this role. But because of certain injuries, I’ve filled in at that role and it’s worked out so well for me. I knew I could play in that position, but sometimes all it takes is a manager to trust you in a certain role.

“When I was younger, I was more of a holding midfielder, making tackles and similar to how I’m playing now but still taking some risks.

“Then once I broke my leg and came back, I had no confidence in tackling or leaving my leg in for challenges. It took me a couple of years because every time I saw someone go in for a 50-50, I thought someone could have broken their leg.

“Of course it affected me mentally, so I got moved further forward into more attacking positions because my decision-making when I was younger wasn’t as good as it is now. That comes with experience.”

Barkley on hopes of an England recall

Barkley’s has led to calls from some for a potential England return after almost five years since his last cap for the Three Lions. Former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas said last month that Barkley should be in contention for an England recall, with former Chelsea team-mate Cesc Fabregas saying that “he’s playing at a fantastic level”.

“Why not? I feel like I’m a much better player now than I was when I was younger.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s in the back of my mind, but I know there’s a lot of competition for places in the England squad.

“I do back myself. I believe I can add something to the squad. I believe the lower midfield role for me, it’s perfect for me now. I have a better understanding of the game.

“I can take risks, create assists and defensively I’m much more disciplined now.”

Barkley on playing at 2014 World Cup

England are just three months away from Euro 2024 in Germany and this summer marks 10 years since Barkley played in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as a 20-year-old. He has not added to his 33 caps since scoring two goals and providing an assist in a 6-0 win in Bulgaria in October 2019.

“To play in a World Cup was a great memory of mine and it seems like it was a long time ago as well.

“It was unbelievable. It was hard to explain how good it was. Maybe I didn’t appreciate it as much because I was so young and I haven’t been to one since.

“The experience of playing against Italy in a World Cup, or Uruguay when Suarez was one of the best players in the world at the time – the atmosphere was so different to anything I’d experienced before.

Barkley on his future after this season

“I’m not too sure [about after this season]. I’m just trying to do my best for Luton, try and keep us in the league and see where I’m at at that point at the end of the season.

“From 30 to when I retire, I’m just going to enjoy this time now.”

Watch Football Focus on Saturday, 9 March at 12:00 GMT on BBC iPlayer, BBC One and the BBC Sport website & app.