In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey has claimed that Ross Barkley goes missing far too often during games, which is what lets him down most.

Dean Smith has recently confirmed that Aston Villa currently have no plans to make the Chelsea loanee's deal a permanent one this summer, with the England international starting his first league game since February in the 2-1 win against Everton at the weekend.

Barkley, who The Athletic's Gregg Evans has labelled a "liability" in the 1874 podcast, via This Is Futbol, made a bright start to his time at Villa Park with two goals and one assist in his first five games, however, since his hamstring injury in October, he has only played 90 minutes in the league twice - including at Goodison Park.

Speaking on how he expects Barkley to impact games more like Grealish and how he tends to go missing during matches, Howey exclusively told FFC:

"When you've got a high-profile player like Barkley, you want him to be really effective during games, a bit like Jack Grealish who always tries to make things happen.

"I think the two of them worked well together but he sometimes goes missing, but there's absolutely no doubt that he is a quality player."

The £96,154 per week midfielder burst onto the scene at Everton, which earned him a move to Chelsea, but after just 86 appearances since 2018, his time could eventually be up at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel, seems settled on his choice of midfielders in Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount, which leaves no guaranteed space for N'Golo Kante and, of course, Ross Barkley.