Ross Barkley should avoid big guns to stay at Everton

Ross Barkley of Everton and England

When Everton manager Roberto Martinez recently stated that “You see Ross [Ross Barkley] and what he’s capable of doing in the future. He is a young man with incredible potential and we need to make sure he has a terrific career,” he did not exaggerate at all.

Barkley has featured in all of Everton’s matches this season and made his mark playing in the central midfield position of the team which has given him the opportunity to dictate terms in the center of the play. At this tender age of 19, Barkley has shown all the traits of a matured footballer, who is willing to learn and displaying an impressive work rate.

Barkley’s main advantage is his physicality, which makes him a perfect Premier League player. Standing tall at 1.89m, he can break through the defences of the oppositions with his sheer power and pace. This can very well be understood from the fact that till now he has been fouled at an average of three times per game, which signifies the threat that he poses around the box.

But it should not be misinterpreted that his physical stature comes in the way of his dribbling ability, which also boasts an impressive figure of five per game. And special mention must be made about his passing ability, which has an excellent 87% successfully completed rate. This trait of his makes him such an asset for the teams that he plays for, be it Everton or England.

The only thing that he needs to brush up in his game is his aerial ability, especially with such a huge frame of his. Till now he has won only four out of the nine aerial duels in the league and should work on this.

All these make us wonder how long Everton can keep hold of this talented player, with teams like Chelsea and Manchester United looking to grasp on the player. It would be certainly a wrong decision on the part of the player if he moves to Chelsea in January at such an early stage of his career. What Barkley needs the maximum now is nurturing and game experience, things which would not be possible at Chelsea.

Chelsea have never had a history of promoting young talents (except for a very few) and it would be difficult to think how Barkley could thrive at the Stamford Bridge amid the plethora of youngsters that the Blues have roped in this summer. Thus, it would be best if he stays on at the Goodison Park for a few more seasons before making the big leap in his career.

And Barkley has received some career advice from his cross town rivals’ captain Steven Gerrard, who has advised the player to ignore Chelsa and United to stay with Everon. Quoted by the Daily Express, Barkley has explained his conversation with Steven Gerrard.

“He told me that I’m a local lad playing for the team I support and there’s nothing better,” said Barkley. “He said that the big-hitters are going to be looking at me and linked with me, but going to another team and not playing is no good for my development.”

“That the main thing is I stay with the club I’m at, the team I support and the team I love, which is Everton.

“I love Everton and all I think about is playing for Everton.”