Ross Barkley’s spell at Aston Villa has been stop-start.

The England international moved to the club on loan from Chelsea in the summer and began the season in fine form, playing in six games in succession between October and November.

He scored in the wins over both Liverpool and Leicester City before a hamstring injury saw him ruled out of seven games in a row.

He returned to the starting XI against Manchester City and has been playing consistently ever since, while scoring the winner in the 1-0 win over Southampton.

Now, though, Birmingham Live reports that the club have yet to discuss a permanent deal with Chelsea ahead of the summer.

It remains to be seen if the Blues would be willing to let Barkley go, especially given their appointment of Thomas Tuchel as their new manager.

Football.London’s Sam Inkersole has reported that the German is keen to give every player a chance to prove his worth.

He said, per Birmingham Live: “Tuchel seems to want to give all of the players a chance and to bring them in from the cold - just look at Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta - so you can't say for certain that a permanent signing for Barkley for Villa would be a go-er. That could change between now and the summer, of course, but it depends how the rest of the season goes."

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

Yeah, this one is up in the air.

Barkley’s loan could be something of a poisoned chalice for the club and the player.

If he thrives and helps the club finish the season strongly, Tuchel may want to bring him back to Chelsea; if he doesn’t, Villa are unlikely to try to bring him in permanently.

It makes sense that Villa are keeping their powder dry and have yet to make a move.

But it remains to be seen if he will eventually end up moving to the Villans.