ROSS BARKLEY'S Chelsea days could be numbered – unlike his shirt.
Mateo Kovacic has been given his fellow midfielder's No8 top in a possible hint that boss Thomas Tuchel is squeezing out Barkley for good.
DREAM TEAM IS BACK! SIGN UP NOW FOR THE 21/22 SEASON WITH £100,000 PRIZE POT UP FOR GRABS
With N’Golo Kante suffering a niggle in training and Jorginho not yet fully fit after Euro 2020, Kovacic hopes to start in Saturday's Premier League opener at home to Crystal Palace.
The Croatia star appears to have been rewarded after a solid 2020-21 season, with an 'upgrade' in shirt numbers from 17 to 8.
Ex-Real Madrid ace Kovacic notched 27 Prem appearances last term, plus ten in the Champions League.
In contrast, Barkley has faded out of the picture at the Bridge, spending the past campaign on loan with Aston Villa.
Tuchel, though, focused his summer transfer attentions on recruiting a world-class striker.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN NEW CUSTOMER DEALS
And after he secured the £97.5million return of Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, many pundits are now tipping Chelsea to challenge for the title.
Manchester United legend Roy Keane told The Overlap: "You were looking the last year or two going for that out and out goalscorer, but Lukaku gives them a great chance.
"I know Liverpool have a lot of players coming back, but I would still be looking at City and Chelsea.”
And fellow Old Trafford great Rio Ferdinand explained to FIVE's YouTube channel: “They have some fantastic talent up there, an array of talent, they have so many weapons now and I think he’ll be the mainstay.
"Everybody else will be moved about around him but he’ll be the person they look to.
"I am really interested to see how Werner and Havertz feed off him, Mount, giving him the ball, Pulisic and Ziyech.
"It’s going to be mouthwatering. Romelu Lukaku guarantees you 20 goals, minimum. He guarantees you that."
⚽ Read our Transfer news live blog for the very latest rumours, gossip and done deals
Source: Read Full Article
