Aston Villa ready Ross Barkley U-Turn - it will affect Sheffield United | OneFootball

The Blades are set to receive a blow in their loan pursuit of midfielder Ross Barkley.

Sheffield United are set to receive a blow in their loan pursuit of Ross Barkley, with Aston Villa considering handing the 32-year-old more game-time due to their current injury crisis in midfield.

This comes from a report by Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, who claims that the West Midlands outfit are also willing to hand the former Everton man a new one-year contract extension, as they battle with multiple absentees and look to keep their push for the Premier League title intact.

A previous report from Football Insider had claimed that Chris Wilder’s side had registered an interest in luring Barkley to the Championship on loan during the January transfer window, with the Blades boss searching for some added experience to help sustain their push up the second-tier standings.

But it now appears to have been put to a halt, with Villa suffering yet another injury in the midfield department to key figure John McGinn, during their 1-0 defeat to Everton last weekend.

That means McGinn joins Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara on the sidelines, with Unai Emery’s men desperately needing reinforcements to bolster a midfield line that is down to the bare bones.

And it now appears that Villa are willing to pull the plug on any loan deal for Barkley in order to leave themselves with enough cover to get through this testing period.

Sheffield United blow as Aston Villa consider Ross Barkley U-turn

As per a report by Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Aston Villa are considering scrapping their plans to send Ross Barkley out on loan during the January transfer window, instead handing him a one-year contract extension and offering him a place in the first-team due to their injury crisis in midfield.

Amadou Onana is expected to be out of action for the next few weeks, while Boubacar Kamara faces a prolonged period of time on the sidelines.

And matters were made worse when John McGinn was forced off with an injury in their defeat to Everton last weekend, meaning the Villains don’t have much cover or depth to get through a hectic period of Premier League scheduling.

This leaves just Youri Tielemans and Lamare Bogarde as their only other senior options in the middle of the park, meaning that Barkley may be able to step into the Villa fray, although he has not featured since late November 2025 due to his own knee problem.

This would be a mighty blow for Sheffield United, who had registered an interest in tempting Barkley away to Bramall Lane for the remainder of the season, hoping he could be the man to add further dynamism in their final third and help them push into promotion contention.

But now it looks like any possibility of Barkley heading away from Villa Park is on hold, given the situation that his top-flight minutes could drastically improve in the coming weeks.

Sheffield United will be bitterly disappointed with Ross Barkley outcome

Of course, all connected with Sheffield United will be bitterly disappointed that Ross Barkley’s loan move to Bramall Lane has hit the brakes, particularly when he had the potential to offer so much quality in their midfield line at this level.

He would have been viewed as an ideal replacement for Gus Hamer, who has been touted for a move away from the Steel City in January. Barkley would have provided much-needed composure and technical ability in the middle of the park, helping the Blades be an even more potent force in the final third.

Meanwhile, his extensive experience at the top level of English football with the likes of Chelsea, Everton, Luton Town and Aston Villa would have been massive to guiding some of the younger players in the Blades squad and giving them another experienced senior pro to learn from.

But now it appears very unlikely that any deal will materialise, so the club will have to go back to the drawing board and pursue other targets that they feel can make an impact for the remainder of the campaign.

While it definitely is a setback, the Blades still have around two weeks to add to that position, with all sorts of unexpected deals set to crop up as the deadline draws closer.