Former England international Gareth Barry has now stated that the believes that his Everton team-mate Ross Barkley can achieve the level of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard for The Three Lions, once he becomes more consistent, though he has not stated which is his best position. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder scored the equalizing goal for manager Roberto Martínez’s side in their 2-1 win over Reading, in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.
It was also the youngster’s 100th appearance for the club and the Toffees’ boss described the achievement as “remarkable” and “immense”. Martínez had previously compared Barkley to Paul Gascoigne and when Barry was asked how he compares to Gerrard and Lampard, he stated, “Ross has got all the potential to become as good as them.”
“He’s got everything that they had to match their ability, but the one thing he’s gonna need is consistency – performing, scoring goals, assisting on a regular basis, and those two players did that for 10, 12 years in the Premier League, so that’s the target for Ross. He has got all the ability to go on and be a really top player. He’s obviously still young so he’s still learning certain parts of the game. He’s got the manager here that’s really trying to find the right position for him to flourish.”
The midfield superstar did not have the best of seasons, in the previous campaign and was shifted all across the midfield in various games.
Talking about that, the former Manchester City man added, “He showed in his first season how good he is, and how consistent he can be. Last season was a bit up and down, a massive learning curve for him, so I’m not surprised this year he’s really kicked off again.”
“It would have been a learning curve not just for Ross but the manager using him last season. He was stuck out wide sometimes, played in the hole, played deeper, so it’s tough for a young player to settle down and play to your strengths when you’re not getting a run in one position. For Ross mainly, last year was a big learning curve, and I think we’re reaping the rewards now.”