Maurizio Sarri: 'Ross Barkley a useful player for Chelsea'

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has said that he is a big fan of Ross Barkley and hopes to get the best out of the English midfielder.

Barkley has been used heavily during the Blues' pre-season campaign and completed the full 90 minutes of Sunday's Community Shield defeat to Manchester City.

The 24-year-old struggled in his first five months at Stamford Bridge after arriving half-fit from Everton in January, but Sarri believes that he has a "useful" player on his hands due to his ability on the ball.

"I like him, he's a technical player. I like him very much," he told reporters at his post-match presser. "He has to improve on the defensive phase, I think.

"It's difficult in this moment to play with Jorginho, Cesc [Fabregas] and Ross all together. But I like him. I think he will be a very useful player for us."

Barkley made just two Premier League appearances in the whole of last season, totalling 131 minutes.