OFFICIAL: Barkley joins Chelsea

Chelsea have announced the signing of Ross Barkley from Everton, the playmaker joining the Premier League champions for a reported £15million.

Barkley has yet to play in the Premier League this season due to a hamstring injury and had been widely expected to leave Goodison Park, with Sam Allardyce resigned to losing the Englishman.

Chelsea were close to completing a deal for Barkley on transfer deadline day in August, with the player reportedly changing his mind about a £35m move during a medical, although the 24-year-old strenuously denied these claims.

Barkley said he would delay a decision over his future until the January transfer window, when he would be fully fit, with his Everton deal set to expire at the end of the season.

But the Premier League champions have now got their man, with Barkley signing a five-and-a-half-year contract to wrap up his switch to Stamford Bridge.