Aston Villa have topped off a busy day of transfer signings with Ross Barkley arriving from Luton Town.
Barkley, who spent the 2020/2021 season on loan at Villa, became the third signing on Monday at the club, following after the arrivals of Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus.
The duo were part of the deal that saw Douglas Luiz sign for the Italian giants in a deal worth close to £44million (€50m).
And Villa have since announced the signing of Barkley, who had been heavily linked with a return to the Birmingham-based club after Luton were relegated last season.
Villa fans are well-acquainted with Barkley, who joined from Chelsea in September 2020 on loan for the season.
On his debut, he starred in a famous 7-2 victory over Liverpool where he scored, as well as combining excellently with Jack Grealish, who scored twice and Ollie Watkins, who netted a hat-trick.
A statement on Villa’s website said: “Aston Villa is delighted to announce the signing of Ross Barkley from Luton Town.
“Barkley returns to Villa Park on a permanent basis having enjoyed a loan spell in claret and blue during the 2020/21 season.
“He started his career at Everton, coming through the ranks at Goodison Park before being snapped up by Chelsea in 2018.
“With 33 England caps to his name, the midfielder has also represented OGC Nice in France.”
While Villa might have made plenty of signings already at the start of the month, they had already confirmed two transfers beforehand.
Ian Maatsen joined last month from Chelsea for £37.5m to bolster their backline after he helped Borussia Dortmund reach the Champions League final last season.
Aston Villa saw academy starlet Omari Kellyman go to Stamford Bridge for a fee of £19m.
A deal was also complete for hot prospect Lewis Dobbin from Everton with Tim Iroegbunam going the other way.
As well as Luiz and Iroegbunam, Villa have also seen Morgan Sanson depart for OGC Nice, where he spent last season on loan.