However, with competition for places in our midfield particularly fierce, that was his only start in the opening matches of the season, as his two Premier League appearances both came from the bench.

After a slow start to his Chelsea career due to injuries, Barkley signalled his return to fitness in his first full season with the club, memorably scoring our injury-time equaliser against Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United at the Bridge. He also appeared in our successful Europa League campaign, scoring in the shoot-out victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the semis and coming off the bench in the final against Arsenal in Baku.