Barkley has been very up and down in his career so far, starting at Everton where he made his first appearance in 2010. He was highly praised by many stars, including Martin Keown, early in his Everton days and made his name in the 2013/14 season where he formed a partnership with Romelu Lukaku and made a total of 38 appearances, scoring 7 and assisting 5. The following season saw a decline in the Liverpool born midfielders output but this was quickly forgotten when the following season saw him notch 23 goal involvements in 48 games.
In January 2018, Barkley moved to London based side Chelsea for a reported £15 million. The following two years saw the ex young player of the year nominee make 79 appearances and contribute to 21 goals, all while being "in and out of the squad" as he put it in his interview on the official Aston Villa website.
Even though Barkley has been playing a very inconsistent amount of football at Stamford Bridge, many Villa fans have been getting very excited about the signing showing that Barkley's potential ability hasn't been forgotten by the supporters.
This is a very smart signing by Smith, Lange and co. and is exactly the kind of player that the club are looking to have moving forward. He adds Premier League experience as well as adding more depth to the Midlands based side's squad. Villa fans will hope that he will be successful and prove to be a savvy recruitment by the club.