Slaven Bilic revives a bit of faith at West Ham United
Ross Barkley splits opinions. The Englishman is no doubt, exceptionally talented, however has failed to live up to the hype in recent seasons. The 2016-2017 campaign, however, has been different. Barkley has shown a great deal of maturity this term. The midfielder has 4 goals and 8 assists, a far better end product compared to previous seasons for Everton. The question arising may be why Barkley instead of Lukaku?
Represents Everton’s Beliefs
Everton Football Club are one of the oldest in England. Over the years, Everton’s philosophies have rarely changed. Loyalty and nativity to Merseyside are two major factors that the Everton fans demand of the players. Sure Everton have foreign flair from the likes of Mirallas. Romelu Lukaku is the Premier League top scorer and brings a great deal to Everton’s attack. However, the core of the team has always comprised of pure-bred English players brought in by Everton’s scouting system. Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka have been around for a while. Tom Davies, Mason Holgate and Dominic Calvert Lewin are the latest of a new batch of home grown talent. Ross Barkley symbolizes the essence of Everton. Born in Liverpool and joining the Everton academy aged 11, Barkley reaffirms the fact that Everton are proud of their beliefs even in times of difficulty.
Everton’s Best Shot At Keeping Lukaku
Barkley and Lukaku have almost a telepathic connection. The duo have been at the forefront of Everton’s attacking football under Koeman. The results- Lukaku’s best return in terms of goals in the Premier League and Barkley’s coming of age. If Everton were to get Barkley to sign a long term deal, it would perhaps make Lukaku consider a few more years at the club. The Belgian forward has publicly stated his desire to play Champions League football which Everton cannot currently offer but with an incoming stadium move and a great deal of foreign investment, Everton certainly aren’t very far off the top.
Importance To The Toffees
The Merseysiders are on the way up. Ronald Koeman has had a fantastic debut season, Farhad Moshiri has provided a stable financial platform and the youth system is producing fantastic Premier League grade talents. If Ross Barkley were to leave, it would undo a lot of the progress EFC have made in recent years and continually represent them as a selling club. Barkley is one of England’s best talents and if he were to move to a bigger Premier League club, it would further widen the gap between the Big-6 and the rest of the teams. No doubt Everton need to strengthen their squad in the summer and fight for a bare-minimum of a Europa League place but the priority should be to keep Barkley firmly fixed in Everton Football Club
Romelu Lukaku steals the headlines for Everton. Having said that, Ross Barkley is an important element of Everton’s development. The Englishman has had a much improved season and there’s far more to come…
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