Everton have been going through a serious injury crisis this season, with the problems hitting their peak when twelve players were missing from the squad when they snatched a draw from Chelsea a few weeks ago, and now the Toffees have the opportunity to look to the transfer window to add players in an attempt to rescue their Premier League campaign in the second half of the season.

What's the word?

The Daily Telegraph reporter Mike McGrath has revealed that Everton could be looking at offering Ross Barkley a loan deal. He took to Twitter to confirm that Everton are considering a short term return;

"Everton consider return for Ross Barkley #EFC"

He then went on to add to the rumour in an article for the Telegraph, writing;

'Barkley who left Goodison Park for Chelsea four years ago, could be allowed to leave on a short-term deal if Thomas Tuchel feels he has numbers to cope with a busy schedule of fixtures.'

Barkley has made eleven appearances for the west London club so far this season across all competitions, being patched into the team as they continue to suffer from injury issues to key players.

If Tuchel was willing to let the midfielder go on a loan deal to Everton he could find himself playing more football and establishing himself as a player that Chelsea can rely on in the future, or a few months of first-team football with Everton could offer him the opportunity to attract a permanent move elsewhere.

Is it the right move?

The 28-year-old attacking midfielder had 179 appearances, 27 goals and 28 assists for the Toffees before he left in the January transfer window of 2018 for a fee of £15.8m, and his experience in the Premier League could really benefit the current Everton side who are struggling to find consistency and form in the league, lacking creativity and goals to take them over the line for three points in games with the side gaining only five wins from seventeen games.

Everton have expectations of finishing in the top half of the table, as close to the European spots as possible.

However the side have conceded eight more goals than they have scored this season so far, which is a statistic that is not reflected in the current top seven teams in the Premier League who have all scored more goals than they have conceded, with that being said, this is a problem Benitez will need to fix fast and Barkley could be that quick fix with his previous experience in creative attacking play at the club.

The Toffees have had their last two games postponed against Burnley and Newcastle but are due to play Brighton at Goodison Park on Sunday, where Benitez will be hoping to pick up his first three points since they beat Arsenal almost a month ago.

Having a new playmaker with vast experience in the Premier League like Barkley could be exactly what the Toffees need to get back firing up the table. We've seen the impact that someone like Demarai Gray has had on the team, so Benitez should be trusted with the former Goodison Park favourite.

In other news: Rafa Benitez struck gold with Demarai Gray