'He's playing at a fantastic level' - Fabregas on Barkley
- Published
Former Premier League winner Cesc Fabregas says the "personality" Ross Barkley plays with is key to his importance to Luton's survival bid.
Fabregas played alongside Barkley for a season at Chelsea and believes the English midfielder has regained the confidence he lost after a difficult spell in his career.
"He's playing at a fantastic level," he told the BBC's Planet Premier League podcast. "I'm very happy for him because he lost his way a little bit. He lost his confidence and now he's back at it.
"He took maybe two steps backward to be able to perform again at the level that that he knows he can. You always need a player like this.
"And he's surrounded by good players but solid players defensively so he can also have this license to go forward as we see, even if he plays in a double pivot and needs to be a little bit more responsible than he used to be in his early days.
"But, they always saw Ross as a number eight, more box-to-box. It's true that now as a number six physically he's a machine.
"I think physically he's one of the best players, but the personality that he plays with I think is the standout for this Luton side.
"To play with players of this personality gives them this one or two seconds extra of possession on the ball that makes things happen, makes this team tick.
"They cannot be 90 minutes defending, especially against teams like Man United, Man City. You need to hold on to the ball a little bit to create something and to give air to your team-mates.
"He's the guy to do it and he's doing it very well.”