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Barkley eyes 'world-class' tag

Cape Town - Ross Barkley wants to realise his full potential by becoming a 'world class' player at Chelsea.

The 24-year-old has struggled for form in recent years having made a name for himself at his boyhood club Everton.

Injuries have been the main worry for the 22-capped England international, who last played for the national side in 2016.

He is yet to play for the Blues after making a £15 million switch this transfer window, but could make his debut against Brighton on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of the game, Barkley told Sky Sports: "I am obsessed with improving. I want to get to a level where I am regarded as one of the best and coming to a club like Chelsea gives me the right platform to improve.

"I want to be regarded as a world-class midfielder. At the moment I have a lot of potential and a lot of world-class attributes and I want to showcase that at a massive club like Chelsea and win things and be regarded as a top-quality player.

"I have got to a level where I feel I needed to make the jump to Chelsea and push myself and get myself to a better level and playing with world-class players here is only going to help.

"I am ready to hit the ground running. The first half of the season dragged for me, I just wanted to kick a ball, but I am back fit and I am ready to go."

Barkley scored and made a second goal in a behind-closed-doors friendly against QPR this past week in his first competitive match since May 2017.

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