Will Ross Barkley fulfil his potential?

Everton midfielder Ross Barkley is 21 today and must start contributing with assists and goals for his team

Everton and England midfielder Ross Barkley is regarded as one of the brightest young midfielders in the European game.

The youngster has been compared to the likes of former England stars Paul Gascoigne and Wayne Rooney.

However, the youngster has failed to deliver much since his comeback from injury in October.

Barkley missed the start of the campaign and injury has hampered his efforts to find his top form.

Productive                

The main strengths of Barkley’s game are his strength, dribbling skills and fearlessness.

However, for all his abilities he is not producing anything tangible at the moment for the Toffees, who are crying out for some inspiration from somebody, anybody at the moment.

Barkley has produced just one assist in his 54 Premier League appearances, which came earlier this season in the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa. Barkley’s only goal in his last 23 games for Everton and England came in the Toffees 3-2 victory over Manchester City at Goodison Park last season.

The lack of goals and assists is worrying for Everton fans and management. If Barkley is not producing goals or assists in the number ten roles then he is a luxury player for the Toffees. The number ten role is vital when a team plays with a lone striker.

Striker Romelu Lukaku has been scoring goals this season, but the service to the Belgium international has not been great in recent games and that has hampered Everton’s chances of winning games.

Potential

No doubt injuries have played a part in Barkley not yet fulfilling his potential for the Toffees. The youngster turns 21 today and has the potential to be as good as he wants to be.

He has every attribute to become a top attacking midfielder or central midfielder in the future. He has pose, strength, determination and the ability to take on opposition players. The general consensus is that he should be producing more for the team.

The hope for England and Everton is that Barkley will start to fulfil his potential, which will mean he contributes more to the team, including assists and goals. His role in the team in the role behind the striker is to link up with him and provide service.

At the moment the youngster is producing flat and quiet performances in the role and it is hampering Everton’s results.

Pressure

With Everton struggling to find form in the Premier League, Barkley is under-pressure to produce the goods. Maybe it is asking too much of such a young player to inspire a turnaround in his team’s fortunes, but both he and fellow youngster Romelu Lukaku are vital players to the cause.

Barkley does not seem to be burdened by the pressure on his shoulders, but it must affect his confidence, especially when he is not producing his best form.

Youngster

Ross Barkley is still very young and time is very much on his side and youngsters are notoriously inconsistent. Barkley should not be relied upon to provide the creative spark for Everton and with first team experience should develop into a better player.

Hopefully Barkley will start producing goals and assists with more first team experience, because at the moment his record for a player with such undoubted talent is not great.

Difficult

Barkley and his Everton teammates face a difficult trip to face Manchester City in the late kick-off on Saturday, in a game that the Toffees are odds of 6/1 to win.

Everton fans will be hoping that Barkley can reproduce something like he produced at Goodison Park against the Citizens last year, because the 21-year-old certainly has it in his locker, but he is not yet producing it on a regular enough basis.

Maybe, just maybe the City game could re-ignite Barkley’s and Everton’s season, as the England midfielder has the potential to be something special, but he now has to turn the undoubted potential into assists and goals.

Will Ross Barkley fulfil his potential?