BARK-ING UP THE WRONG TREE?
FANS’ DETECTIVE WORK PLACES TARGET ROSS AT SCENE OF CITY’S SPANISH TRAINING CAMP – SENDING RUMOUR MILL INTO OVERDRIVE
EAGLE-EYED Coventry City fans have been working overtime over the last few days, undertaking some forensic detective work on social media and out in the field in an attempt to put two and two together and come up with a potential summer transfer target.
Hares started running when, purely by chance, a Sky Blues fan spotted Ross Barkley at Malaga Airport over the weekend.
The player posed for a selfie and it is claimed was asked if he was joining City’s training camp, to which it is said he replied with a wink.
Hours later, the experienced midfielder, whose impressive season with Luton in the Premier League earned him a contract at Villa Park, posted a picture on instagram of the gym where he was doing pre-season training.
Fans were quick to compare various features of the facility that included a very distinctive wooden ceiling with pictures from City’s training camp, rightly concluding that he was, indeed, at the same training venue as Frank Lampard and his players.
Barkley was linked with interest from the Sky Blues back in May when the Sun’s transfer specialist Alan Nixon claimed that Lampard, right, wants the former Chelsea star to make the switch to the CBS Arena, with his future at Aston Villa under the spotlight.
Barkley has another year on his Villa contract but, the report suggested, he is said to be keen to play regular football and a move to the Championship title-winners “could be on the agenda”. Nixon said Lampard was putting a package together for the ex-chelsea man.
So there you have it, having been linked with interest in Barkley in the press, the sight of the Villa player out in Marbella where the Sky Blues are currently training led to many putting two and two together and coming to the conclusion that he’s set to join City this summer.
The Coventry Telegraph can confirm that Barkley was, indeed, at the same sports facility as the Sky Blues on Monday. However, it’s understood that he was working with his own personal trainer and NOT with the City squad.
Apart from being contracted to Villa for another year, Barkley is due to report back for pre-season at Bodymoor Health next week.
The Marbella training venue is widely used by a number of professional footballers and sportsmen, with Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber as well as current free agent Dele Alli and a young player from Bayern Munich also spotted there this week undergoing intensive fitness work with one-toone trainers.
That said, it doesn’t mean that Coventry aren’t interested in Barkley, but the facts are that he wasn’t training with the squad this week.
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues have confirmed a transfer. Midfielder Isaac Moore has left the CBS Arena to join Walsall on a season-long loan deal. “It’s a really nice feeling,” he said. “It’s been in the pipeline for a few weeks now and when I heard of the interest from Walsall I wanted to get it done as soon as possible. There’s a really nice feel about the club and for me it feels like the perfect fit.
“The key is to win as many games as possible, but equally the gaffer mentioned to me about my personal development which is important as well and improving as a player and I think I can get the best of both here.
“I’m really looking forward to my first taste of EFL football, learning from the management staff, and I just can’t wait to get going in front of the fans.”
Walsall head coach Lee Grant said: “I’m pleased to welcome Isaac to the club.
“He’s someone we’ve been monitoring for some time and he’s an incredibly motivated young man who is really keen to show everyone what he is all about.
“At the age of 20, Isaac arrives with some good experiences under his belt at both Forest Green Rovers and Solihull Moors and a real eagerness to continue to learn, develop and give his all when out on the pitch.
“We’d like to thank Frank (Lampard) and our colleagues at Premier League Coventry City for putting their faith and trust in us with one of their young talents and we look forward to playing our part in helping him grow as a player and seeing him contribute for us.”