There’s been a very telling pattern about English fans getting over-excited and over-hyping young English talent. After all, the Premier League is the world’s best league. But the best players in the Premier League are usually the ones from abroad. Ross Barkley is one player whose arrival in the Premier League scene got a lot of people excited.
Everton and English fans alike thought that they had found their heir to Paul Gascoigne, a player they worshipped. Barkley showed similar qualities and characteristics during the initial days of his career. He was given his break by David Moyes, but his talent was truly nurtured in the season of 2013/14 under Roberto Martinez when Barkley truly flourished and played a vital role as Everton finished 5th in the table.
Ever since, his stock has fallen down as he has failed to put in the consistent performances that were expected of him. Now aged 23, he is no longer a baby that deserves more time to prove himself. He should be entering his best years now, but it’s been completely the opposite. When Ronald Koeman came in during the summer at Everton, he praised Barkley for his qualities and said that the Englishman would be a mainstay in his team, but again the midfielder has shown signs of weakness and inconsistency, thus giving the manager the very tough choice of benching him.
Barkley has been renowned for his strength, pace and ability to take on players. He also has the ability to get on the score sheet a lot more regularly, but so far he has been unable to do so. His highest goal-scoring campaign came last year when he notched up 8 goals. But the fact that he featured in each one of Everton’s 38 league games last year means that the tally just wasn’t up to the notch.
Tottenham have now been linked with a move for the star attacking midfielder. They’ve had their own troubles in midfield as Moussa Sissoko and Delle Alli are struggling for consistency. With Erik Lamela out injured, they are a bit short of numbers in midfield. Mauricio Pochettino is already ruing not bringing in better enforcements during the summer to bolster his midfield, which has looked short on numbers. Pochettino has had to rely on youth players to fill the void left by his injured/out of form stars.
Moussa Sissoko, since arriving from Newcastle in the summer, has been a virtual failure on the pitch. He came with a lot of expectations, having had a brilliant Euro 2016 tournament in his native of France. Just like his last few months at Newcastle, Sissoko has just featured for Spurs and has far from impressed the Spurs faithful about his credentials. It’s quite ironical that Everton lost out on Sissoko to Spurs at the last moment, with the London club being able to offer him Champions League football.
Their pursuit of Barkley is one that makes a lot of sense. He is young, quick, powerful and has the swagger to become a top player. Although he has hit a roadblock at Everton in terms of his development, he still possesses a lot of quality and this is something that Spurs have recognised. White Hart Lane also acts as home to a number of young English players such as Harry Kane, Delle Alli, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker and Eric Dier and Barkley know all these players really well from his time with the English national team and that will potentially serve him well if he makes the move.
The only problem for Pochettino would be getting Barkley to fit into his team. Perhaps he sees Barkley in the mould of a deeper player, to complement the likes of Dembele, Wanyama and Dier. Youngster Harry Winks has featured there recently and impressed, but with a long campaign ahead, Pochettino would be averse to placing such expectations on a young set of shoulders. Thus he would be better served by making a move for Everton’s Ross Barkley, for whom the move might come at the perfect time. He has been itching to prove his detractors wrong and a move to White Hart Lane might just give him the opportunity to do so.