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Ross Barkley ? next in line...?
Comments (13) : At Everton they know a good young player when they see one and at the club's academy, Barkley is rated as the next potential first-team recruit to follow in the footsteps of Wayne Rooney and Jack Rodwell.
Still very young ? he only turned 16 last month ? Barkley too plays for the England Under-17s. Primarily a box-to-box midfielder, he has been playing as a forward in Everton's FA Youth Cup team. One of the best young prospects in the country, he scored against Northern Ireland in the Under-16s Victory Shield game in October 2008 when he was still just 14.
He is a big, imposing player but he is also very versatile and, given Everton's record of pushing young players through, it would not come as a complete surprise if he managed to edge his way into first-team contention over the next 12 months.
He comes from the Wavertree district of Liverpool, the latest gem to be unearthed in a city that continually produces great footballers. Everton will want to sign him to a professional contract on his 17th birthday at the end of the year and, if they do end up losing Rodwell in the summer transfer window, then Barkley will be the next to come through.
In the England Under-17s team Everton also have Luke Garbutt, a left-back signed from Leeds United, who has shown great promise and could challenge for a first-team place come the end of this year".
Reader Comments (13)
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2 Posted 27/10/2010 at 03:48:18
A few months ago, I tore my meniscus, partially tore my MCL, sprained my ACL, dislocated my kneecap and tore my patellofemoral ligament. I broke my arm a few years ago and it's perfectly fine now. My knee however, still feels far from 100% so I wanted to find out if it would ever fully heal. The above paragraph is my understanding of the differences between bone and ligament damage. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not claiming to be a medical expert but if I'm right, Barkley could still end up being a great player.
3 Posted 27/10/2010 at 04:40:29
4 Posted 27/10/2010 at 04:42:44
5 Posted 27/10/2010 at 11:13:51
I would imagine with teh lad being so young, a bone break wouldn't be as devastating as if it happened in older age; however it may affect his growth and he could end up with a Chris Waddle...errrr. waddle.
What is more frustrating is that it happened when he was on internaltion duty.....just one more for the book.
I hope he recovers fully and is another gem like Rooney or Rodwell (to be honest still not overly convinced about Rodders yet)
6 Posted 27/10/2010 at 12:45:30
7 Posted 27/10/2010 at 13:36:02
8 Posted 27/10/2010 at 14:28:25
The difference is that those you mentioned Cisse, Smith, Eduardo all had 'open' breaks where the bone actually pierced through the skin due to the severity of the break and I would imagine that there were other complications in the recovery too. I dont think that barkley had that unless I am mistaken
9 Posted 27/10/2010 at 16:53:31
10 Posted 27/10/2010 at 20:04:41
11 Posted 27/10/2010 at 20:09:24
He'll be fine and a future star for Everton, hopefully.
12 Posted 28/10/2010 at 16:00:15
13 Posted 28/10/2010 at 19:01:51
Pat's was a fair summary. Hopefully the lad will be back to light running in the new year and could perhaps aim for a meaningless end of season game 1st team debut.
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1 Posted 27/10/2010 at 03:29:15
Doubt he will ever be the player he could have been now.
Big Shame... Vaughan, Anichebe... (think there's others), now Barkley.