Barkley has been great forvilla, says manager Smith
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has hailed the impact Ross Barkley has had since his arrival from Chelsea.
The 26- year- old has impressed in midfield and scored twice in his three appearances for Villa since joining the club on a season-long loan deal this month.
He was instrumental, linking up seamlessly on his debut with Jack Grealish, in Villa’s 7- 2 dismantling of Premier League champions Liverpool, scoring his new side’s fifth goal early in the second half.
Barkley, who is under contract at Chelsea until the summer of 2023, also scored an injury-time winner at Leicester in Villa’s 1-0 victory.
Smith believes that Barkley’s performances for his team reflect his ambitions to be part of the England squad for next summer’s European Championship.
“He’s someone I felt we needed,” said Smith ahead of Villa’s Premier League game at home against Southampton today.
“I look at the Premier League and you need legs in your midfield area because you’ve got to cover a lot of ground in a game. Ross does that.
“He’s got ambitions to get into the Euro squad at the end of the season. With the quality Chelsea have got, they couldn’t guarantee anyone minutes.
“His work ethic and attitude has been tremendous. He brings us that added bit of quality that we needed.”
Villa have made their best start to a season since
1930, but lost their 100 per cent record last week with a 3-0 defeat to Leeds at Villa Park.
Smith has said he is confident of a reaction from his players but he acknowledges the threat posed by Southampton – particularly through their strike duo of Danny Ings and Che Adams.
“They’ve got goals in the team and we have to be wary of their strengths,” said Smith. “We’ll have to be at our best.”
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is confident Theo Walcott will have an impact this season.
The Saints brought an end to Everton’s unbeaten start to the season last weekend with a clinical 2-0 win although they had to do without Walcott, who was ineligible to play against his parent club.
The 31-year-old has made one appearance, during a 3-3 draw against Chelsea, since rejoining his boyhood club on a season-long loan in October, and Hasenhuttl has backed him to help the side.
On comments Walcott made about his enthusiasm for his return to the south coast, Hasenhuttl said: “( I’m) very happy to hear that he likes it here and he enjoys what we are doing here. I think it’s the same so far that what I’ve seen on the pitch. Normally you get a feeling for how much a player enjoys to play here and I’m happy that he’s available again this weekend.”