Many football fans still regard Ross Barkley as a promising youngster, one for the future, but the Chelsea and England midfielder turns 25 later this year.

The attacking midfielder is no spring chicken anymore and should be approaching his peak years.

Barkley’s £15 million transfer from Everton to Stamford Bridge in January provided him with the fresh start he craved. Although he grew up supporting the Toffees, he was acutely aware that his career was stagnating at Goodison Park.

"To be given a fresh start at a new club like Chelsea, it's unbelievable for me," Barkley was quoted as saying by BBC Sport in January.

"He's very young and has a lot of space for improvement," his new manager Antonio Conte added. "He's a good prospect but at the same time, it will be very important to understand, if the player signs, we must have patience to help him recover."

Chelsea’s acquisition of Barkley raised eyebrows for various reasons.

Inconsistency was a major problem for the England international during his final couple of seasons with Everton - and he hadn’t played at all during the first half of the current campaign due to injury.

Barkley's first five months have been disappointing

While he impressed during his first training sessions and scored twice in a behind-closed-doors practice match against Queens Park Rangers, his debut against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup showed he was well off the pace.

Barkley has only made two more appearances for the Blues since. His one and only Premier League appearance for Chelsea was in the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the end of January.

Injury problems have plagued his first-half season with Chelsea, who are unlikely to secure Champions League qualification for next season following their 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night.

But what are insiders at Chelsea thinking about Barkley after his first five underwhelming months at the Bridge?

What Chelsea insiders are saying about Barkley

Well, the Daily Mail claim those at the club are still hopeful that he will have a big part to play at the club next season.

They believe Conte’s successor - whoever that might be - will inherit a ‘talented starlet’ who is keen to impress.

People at Stamford Bridge have also been impressed by the maturity that Barkley has shown since arriving and feel that he is a strong part of the group, getting on with all of his new teammates.

Chelsea subsequently have no plans to sell Barkley, who will focus on getting himself fit for the club’s pre-season tour of Australia, Poland and Sweden.

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