Nice have announced the signing of former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley on a free transfer.
Barkley went into the summer transfer window knowing he had a year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge but had little chance of making Thomas Tuchel’s squad.
Although he played 45 minutes in a friendly against Club America, that was his only appearance during pre-season, and he was not picked to any of Tuchel’s Premier League squads during the first few weeks of the season.
Due to a lack of concrete interest in his signature, Chelsea offered Barkley a mutual parting of ways at the end of August, which the 28-year-old agreed in order to jump-start his career.
Barkley was anticipated to join for a team in England or Scotland after leaving Chelsea with 12 goals and 11 assists in 100 games.
Welcome to your new home, Mr Barkley 💪🔴⚫️#OGCNice #RossBarkleypic.twitter.com/bR2mwZcHFZ
— OGC Nice 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@ogcnice_eng) September 4, 2022
However, the former England international was formally announced as a Nice player on Sunday evening, ahead of their match against Monaco.
Barkley has been handed the No. 11 jersey by Nice, who entered the match against Monaco in 14th place in Ligue 1.
Barkley stood by as his new club was defeated 1-0 at Allianz Riviera, extending the club’s poor start to the current Ligue 1 season.
Nice had only five points from their first six games, and they needed extra time against Maccabi Tel Aviv last month to clinch a place in the Europa Conference League.
However, Nice appear to have been unable to register Barkley for their continental fixtures, as he is not officially listed on UEFA’s official website.
Despite the fact that Barkley has chosen his first challenge away from English football, he joins a Nice squad that is full of familiar names from English football.
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Barkley was a product of Everton’s academy and made 179 appearances for the Toffees, scoring 27 goals.
In 2018, Barkley moved to Chelsea, where he failed to maintain a regular starting position for the Blues.
He scored 12 goals in 100 games for Chelsea.
Barkley will be hoping that his move to Nice will allow him to get regular playing time and consistent results.
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