Aston Villa have already signed five new players over the transfer window so far, however, they could be set to add one more signing as a new update emerges on a potential transfer target.

What's the latest?

According to journalist Simon Phillips, Aston Villa are "interested" in signing Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley this summer.

Phillips told GIVEMESPORT:

“With Ross Barkley, he’s got a lot of other clubs interested in him at the moment so it’s not just Everton. He’s got Brighton, Newcastle, West Ham and Aston Villa and Celtic. So got plenty of options to go to.”

He doesn't "do enough"

Villa have already nine new players in their team since the turn of the year, so it is questionable as to whether the squad needs further strengthening over the last few weeks of the window, especially a player who is not a dead certain to make an instant impact in the team.

Barkley is no stranger to Villa Park joining the club on loan over the 2020/21 season, and although the midfielder made a promising start, as the season went on it didn't work out.

The Athletic's Aston Villa reporter Gregg Evans gave a scathing assessment of Barkley during his time at the club on the 1874 podcast last year:

“He doesn’t do enough for me now. I’ve seen enough of Ross Barkley now to realise that he’s becoming a bit of a liability for Villa.

“He’s not helping out enough as he should, really."

The £100k-per-week midfielder lost the majority of his duels (55%), failed to get stuck into defensive play for the team with 0.2 tackles, 0.2 interceptions and lost the ball every 4.2 touches per game over his 26 appearances for the Midlands club.

As a result, it doesn't seem like the player was a great fit for the team back then and would not likely be welcomed back with open arms by the supporters of the club.

After all, their midfield already boasts a lot of talent with Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey occupying the centre of the pitch.

With that being said, it would be interesting to see if Villa do advance on their interest in Barkley following the departure of Carney Chukwuemeka. However, based on his previous stint at the club he may become more of a hindrance than a help once again, something Gerrard must avoid.