Ross Barkley will be a major threat to Tottenham’s defence

Ross Barkley has shone this season

When David Moyes left Everton to join Manchester United at the end of last season, there was a certain fear in the air as it was hard to envisage improvement after such a sustained spell of consistency at Goodison Park. But new manager Roberto Martinez has injected new life into the club and has even managed to tweak their style of football in the early stages of his reign, meaning there is renewed optimism around the club. His fluent Everton side now sit in sixth place and play host to Tottenham this weekend looking to make it six wins in seven games in the league.

Now the signing of Romelu Lukaku may have been the major stand-out from Martinez’s first few months in charge but the emergence of Ross Barkley as a key player at the club has not gone unnoticed either. In fact, the early season performances of the 19-year-old have already managed to earn him England recognition.

Spurs need to be wary of the youngster’s ability to take-on his man and get a shot off with either foot this weekend. Barkley has plenty of confidence and has the ability to back his attitude up.

You can tell that Barkley just loves being on the pitch, he is extremely positive and direct when in possession. He suffered a lengthy injury lay-off in his early career which saw him miss the best part of a year with a broken leg but this spell on the side-lines hardly looks to have stifled his development. In fact, it looks to have made him even more determined to put his undoubted talent to good use.

After just seven league appearances last term, Barkley was flung into Everton’s starting line-up by Martinez in his first game in charge and he did not disappoint against Norwich, scoring a screamer and earning the Man of the Match award in the process.

Ross Barkley Goal v Norwich

As mentioned, Barkley has two good feet and is very technically gifted; both of his two league goals have been scored with different feet this season.

His tendency to shoot from distance has given his shot accuracy an unhealthy look but given time he will become more consistent with this part of his game. There is no doubt Martinez should definitely continue allowing him to express himself in the final third.

Ross Barkley Shot Accuracy

Where Barkley will be able to hurt Spurs the most is his ability to run at the heart of their defence and beat a man. He has won 30 take-ons already this season at a success rate of a 65%. He has also suffered 25 fouls too which shows his willingness to commit defences to a tackle.

However, Barkley does have a sensible side too. He knows when to pick a pass and can completed them at a very high rate when required. His completion rate stands at 87% this season but just 50.3% of these passes go forwards. Barkley should be looking to improve on the number of forward passes he attempts, as it is the ability to play a key, defence splitting pass regularly that separates the top attacking midfielders from the average ones. Barkley has created just eight chances this season, just one more than Spurs schemer Christian Eriksen, who has played in four less games.

Barkley is a man in form and Spurs need to be on the lookout this weekend as he is one player that can hurt them. His ability to commit defenders, allowing teammates more space is a valuable asset to any team.