Baines: Barkley is a young exciting player with raw ability
Everton left-back Leighton Baines has been praising young Everton midfielder Ross Barkley and says that on the pitch he is a thinker and has loads of raw ability.
Baines also praised how Barkley has handled coming from reserve team football to being a regular starter for his club team and regular squad member for his country.
He said: “He’s come such a long way in such a short space of time and I’m sure he is going to be a huge asset for Everton and England.
“He’s a thinker, a young, exciting player with lots of raw ability. But you can hear from his answers that he’s thinking about how to add to his game.
“He’s talking about players who are not quite of the same style and he’s right in saying there are still things he can learn from those players.
“If anything, he has the natural ability of the people like Stevie, Scholes and Frank – people who played in that position, dominated games, were known for doing the right thing at the right time.
“He is coming from a place where he was playing reserve team football and then playing for England in a really short space of time.
“We have to continue to allow him to develop, but I think that is what the manager is doing here and what the manager is doing at Everton.
“I don’t want to compare him to anyone else at this point. He’s the type of player, with his power, you don’t see a lot of.
“You don’t always see someone who is so big, physically strong, quick, but can move his feet and have his agility.
“He has a lot of natural attributes but now he’s thinking about the other things, slowing things down, making the right decisions in the right areas, and we are seeing that already.”
How far can Barkley go? Comment below or have your say on our dedicated Everton Forum at www.theevertonforum.co.uk/forum