Cesar Azpilicueta has praised the attitude of January signing Ross Barkley after he made his Chelsea debut in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat at Arsenal.
Barkley, a £15million buy from Everton, replaced Willian in the 30th minute before completing the rest of the game, which Chelsea lost 2-1.
Despite being frustrated at missing out on a Wembley final, Azpilicueta was encouraged by what he saw from Barkley, 24.
Former Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, 24, made his debut for Chelsea on Wednesday night
Blues team-mate Cesar Azpilicueta said he has been impressed by Barkley’s ‘great attitude’
‘Ross came with a great attitude, really trying to work hard to adapt to the team,’ said Azpilicueta on Thursday.
‘We know that he is coming back from a long injury and he has only played for the Under-23s but he came straight on without a warm-up and seems on the right path.
‘I am sure he will be very important for the team.’
Barkley had not played for former club Everton since May and Azpilicueta added: ‘He is coming from a seven-month injury and is with a new club and a new team.
‘What I see in training is him working very hard to work with the team and I am sure he will be very important.’
Azpilicueta has started 33 games for Chelsea this season as manager Antonio Conte has been reluctant to rotate his squad in key areas.
‘I am sure he will be very important for the team,’ Azpilicueta said of new team-mate Barkley
Barkley completed two dribbles and 18 of 22 attempted passes against Arsenal at the Emirates
But as the Blues prepare for a hectic back-end of the season — including games in three competitions — Azpilicueta is aware that Conte may have to play the squad game more, making Barkley an important player.
He said: ‘Now in the next six or eight games we have the next rounds of the FA Cup, we have the Champions League and we have the Premier League.
‘We have to keep pushing so the next few weeks we have very important games and we need everybody 120 per cent.’
Barkley is unlikely to be Chelsea’s only signing this month. Conte is looking to bring in another striker and Roma’s Edin Dzeko — who scored twice in a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier this season — is said to be on his wish-list.
Azpilicueta admitted that he was expecting further movement before deadline day, but was reluctant to speak about individuals.
‘I played against him too at Manchester City,’ Azpilicueta said of Dzeko. ‘But as I said before I don’t really like to speak out about other players in this situation.’
But Barkley ended up on the losing side as Chelsea were beaten 2-1 by their London rivals
Granit Xhaka scored the winning goal for Arsenal, firing home under pressure from Azpilicueta