Chelsea set £40m asking price for on-loan midfielder

Chelsea are reportedly prepared to demand around £40m for Ross Barkley, should Aston Villa want to sign him permanently in the summer.

The England international joined the Villans on a season-long loan last summer and he has made a good impact with three goals and one assist from 14 league games.

Barkley's season was disrupted by a hamstring injury when he was finding his form, but he has still impressed manager Dean Smith, who is keen on signing him permanently.

According to 90min, the Blues are open to sanctioning the permanent departure of Barkley, but they won't accept anything less than £40m from the player's suitors.

The Villans paid a club-record £28m fee to sign Ollie Watkins from Brentford last summer and they will have to pay a significantly higher sum to land Barkley.

Barkley's current deal with the Blues expires in the summer of 2023. It is unclear whether he would be integrated into the first-team plans under new boss Thomas Tuchel next term.