NOW I CAN BANK ON BARKLEY

Sarri admits midfielder had a poor start with him but has worked his way into the first team

MAURIZIO SARRI has claimed that when he first took over at Chelsea, Ross Barkley was “in trouble”.

But now the England midfielder, who will face his boyhood club Everton tomorrow for the first time since leaving Goodison, has overtaken Ruben Loftuscheek in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.

The battle for places in Sarri’s midfield at Chelsea is intense, with Jorginho, N’golo Kante, Barkley, Loftus-cheek, Mateo Kovacic, and Cesc Fabregas all battling for places, and Danny Drinkwater seemingly out in the cold.

But Barkley, after a start under Sarri which the Italian admits was far from perfect, has made himself a real contender – and won an England recall.

Barkley (left) played the entire 90 minutes as Chelsea took their unbeaten run this season to 17 games by reaching the last 32 of the Europa League with a 1-0 win at BATE Borisov on Thursday night. Sarri’s side are now the only unbeaten team in all of Europe’s top five leagues.

The 24-year-old, who made 150 appearances for Everton before joining Chelsea last January in a £15million deal, has hit three goals in his last five games.

But Sarri (below) admitted he had his doubts about the young English star when he took over from Antonio Conte as boss.

“At the beginning, in the first month, Ross was in trouble,” he said.

“But then he started to improve in every training session, in every match.

“I am surprised how he has adapted if I think back to the first month, but not if I think of the last two months.

“At the moment, from a tactical point of view, Ross is a step ahead of Loftus-cheek because Ruben in the first part of the season had two or three little injuries.”

And Sarri spelled out the attributes of Barkley, who is expecting a hot reception from Everton’s travelling fans tomorrow.

“I like Ross very much,” Sarri said.

“He is a complete player. He has physical qualities, he is fast. Technically he’s very good.

“He kicks well with his left foot and his right. He’s improving in moving the ball. He has become mentally quicker and he is improving tactically. He is on the way to becoming a very important midfielder, not only for us but also for England.”

Sarri will make a host of changes again for the visit of Everton after Chelsea’s sluggish performance in Belarus on Thursday night.

But Loftuscheek is a doubt after picking up a back problem. Eden Hazard, also recovering from a back injury, is almost certain to start after getting another hour of football under his belt in Belarus, where Olivier Giroud’s first club goal of the season sealed Chelsea qualification.

But Sarri warned: “Eden is doing very well but now he needs to improve his physical performance. He did not play badly but he can do better. I’m not sure if he is ready for 90 minutes yet.”