After making his return to England action on Friday, the Chelsea midfielder is determined to keep his place in the team
Ross Barkley is determined to work hard at Chelsea to keep his place in Gareth Southgate's England side after returning to the international fold in Friday's 0-0 Nations League draw with Croatia.
Barkley had not featured for England since 2016 after struggling for form and fitness in the latter stages of his time at Everton and early in his Chelsea career.
But the 24-year-old has played in all but one of the Blues' Premier League matches under Maurizio Sarri and appears to have put those concerns behind him.
Asked whether Friday's match felt like a second England debut, Barkley told Sky Sports : "No, because I've been here before, so I know what it's like to play for England and how much it means to everyone and myself.
"Over the years I've worked hard and where I'm at right now, I feel fresh, I feel strong. I'm sure I'll continue to get fitter and continue to improve.
"I'll work hard at club level and hopefully that will take care of itself."
The match was played behind closed doors as Croatia served their punishment for an incident in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy when a swastika was marked on the pitch.
"It was odd but we've played in situations like this before in our youth days," added Barkley.
"I thought in the second half we had our fair share of chances and any other day I feel we would have come away with the three points and possibly won 3-0. I thought we should have been a bit more ruthless today.
"We had the best chances and I can't remember them really having many chances other than a couple of shots from the edge of the box. It's disappointing that we didn't win the game."
justify
0
Probably not. Rather have Maddison or Sancho in the starting XI than Barkley. Overhyped better options
Laryngitis
2
Barkley has greatly improved so I don't see why u will be saying over hyped
heritageboi
2
Rose
heritageboi
3
Rose of me
cesirsuyz
2
a talented player ...jnr Lampard
Football-Manager
1
The set up will need to be right for him to shine brightly. Perhaps a look at the Chelsea way and mimic it. Because, I don’t think Eric Dier is the right man to play alongside him. Dier’s lack of pace and slow turns means Barkley is having to cover for him. It’s suppose to be the other way around. Southgate needs to start picking the right players and not names to make his squad. We’re blessed with talent!
tizlnpruy
1
Fantastic Barkley
Carolme
0
I he starts we will have Dele Ali next to Blind Alley
liabilities
0
He's had a good start to the season so could be another option for england
bonding
1
The talent is there for him to be the creative midfielder england is crying out for. Can he perform consistently enough though?
Backyard
0
Also he’s just dierbolical with no vision, the World Cup team was creative and this takes a step back
Opacity
0
But no football brain and always dwells on the ball one touch too much and gets caught in possession. Not good enough, period
mountains
0
How much more time does he need? He's heading down the same road as Walcott, Wright-Philips, Morrison, etc. Billed up to umpteen proportions before he achieved anything and the poor lad bought into it and now can't accept the reality that's he's about 20% as good as what everyone has said all along.
osoniouk
0
Once again he was more of a liability than an asset! Loose and carefree on the ball, his overconfidence misplaced.
podcast
0
If Barkley is the best we've got it's really not worth bothering. . Southgate thinks he's cleverer than he is,by the way. He's the guy who persevered with the Alli/Lingard pairing that plainly didn't work - everyone could see it except him.
Crazyman
0
I've been hearing this about Barkley for years. Only a two break from that noise so far.well till now