Ross Barkley made his debut for Nice over the weekend but it has been revealed that he effectively wasn’t signed by their head coach, Lucien Favre, in what is a massive red flag that provides another relief that he didn’t end up at Rangers.
As it is, the former Chelsea and Everton man has joined up with the likes of Kasper Schmeichel and Aaron Ramsey as Le Gym look to take the next step toward the Champions League places in France.
Barkley came on as a sub in their 0-1 away win over Ajaccio on Sunday, where he also picked up a booking in just under 20 minutes on the pitch.
However, Favre revealed in the build up to the game that he didn’t know much about Barkley and even less on where he should be best deployed on the pitch, as reported by the Daily Mail:
“I’m told he’s more of an eight”, was the response provided by the head coach who is said to have not been involved in signings like this one (and Ramsey).
From the player’s point of view, how and why could he have signed for the French club without a proper conversation with the coach, in regard to the plan on the pitch as well as where he would fit in. Was it a money orientated move or just a case of taking the first reasonably attractive offer?
There will be similar speculation but it really doesn’t provide a good impression on top of the other noise that surrounds Barkley. Thankfully, he has joined Ramsey where he is now and hasn’t been the latest in a line of high-profile, low-impact ‘big name’ signings at Ibrox.