Chelsea have pulled off one of the more surprising transfers of the January window, signing Ross Barkley from Everton for £15 million. 

The English midfielder has not featured at all this season and has been sidelined by a long-term hamstring injury. 

But after almost eight months out, he's close to getting back onto the pitch and that's something that will excite fans of his new club. 

Antonio Conte's side have struggled this season and were held by Championship side Norwich City in the FA Cup last Saturday. 

The Blues were lacking a creative spark without the likes of Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas and after watching a poor performance, many fans were suggesting there is room for Barkley in the first team. 

And according to club legend Frank Lampard, Barkley's move to Chelsea could take him to the next level and help him become an England regular. 

The 24-year-old already has 22 caps for his country but hasn't played for the Three Lions since April 2016. 

In fact, he was left out of Roy Hodgson's Euro 2016 squad, despite travelling to the World Cup in 2014. 

Lampard, who was also in the 2014 squad, has revealed that the consistency Barkley needs at Chelsea will help him re-establish a place in the England team. 

"He just needs to learn and listen to people around the place. The standards at Chelsea will be higher than what he's used to," the BT Sport pundit told Goal.  

"No disrespect to Everton but he came through there. There are consistency levels at Chelsea in what's demanded of you generally in your game and that's good. 

"He's at the stage of his career where he certainly needed that and I think Chelsea will be a great home for him on that front," Lampard continued.

"If he plays consistently then I think he's a key England player in the making. He's already an England player and he's got that ability to create something out of nothing so let's get him playing regularly to show what he can do for England and Chelsea."

And Barkley should have plenty of chances to impress at Stamford Bridge. 

With an FA Cup replay to come, Chelsea are now playing eight games in the next four weeks and if he's fit, the midfielder will surely feature as Conte will rotate his squad.