Barkley wants ‘fresh start’ at Chelsea after move from Everton

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Ross Barkley says he is keen to make a “fresh start” at Chelsea after completing his move from Everton.

The England international, 24, has moved to Stamford Bridge for £15m and has signed a five-year-a-half-year contract. He will wear the number eight shirt for his new team.

Chelsea attempted to sign Barkley during the summer only for the deal to fall through at the last minute.

They have finally got their man, with Barkley leaving Everton after 13 years at Goodison Park.

“I’m overwhelmed, I’m looking forward to it and I’m really excited to get started,” Barkley told Chelsea’s website.

“To be given a fresh start at a new club like Chelsea, it’s unbelievable for me.

“I’m looking forward to continuing where I left off at the end of last season and hoping to improve and add more goals to my game.”

Barkley, who had hamstring surgery in August, has not played this season because of the injury and Blues boss Antonio Conte has warned that Chelsea will therefore need to show “great patience” with him.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday afternoon, Conte added: “He’s very young and I think he has a lot of space for improvement. He is very strong physically and has good technique.

“It’s a good prospect, but at the same time it will be very important to understand when he can recover from injury, because don’t forget he had a bad injury and hasn’t been playing for seven months.”