Ross Barkley was left out of the England squad by new manager Sam Allardyce.
Everton’s Gareth Barry celebrates scoring
Everton midfielder Gareth Barry has told ITV that he want to see Ross Barkley prove England manager Sam Allardyce wrong.
Allardyce won his first game as England manager with a 1-0 victory over Slovakia on Sunday, as Adam Lallana’s injury-time winner masked an unconvincing performance from the Three Lions in Trnava.
England appeared to lack pace and drive in midfield before Dele Alli was introduced as a substitute, and many questioned just why Everton star Barkley wasn’t in the squad.
Everton’s Ross Barkley looks dejected
Barkley, 22, had an up-and-down campaign last season under Roberto Martinez and failed to even play one minute for England at Euro 2016, but has enjoyed a strong start to the new season under Ronald Koeman’s tutelage.
Questions continue to be asked about Barkley’s decision making, but he brings real drive and energy from midfield, whilst also possessing a major goal threat – attributes Jordan Henderson and Wayne Rooney didn’t bring to the table against Slovakia.
Everton’s Ross Barkley celebrates scoring
Barkley’s omission from the squad was strange to begin with, but after watching his midfield struggle to support lone striker Harry Kane, he must now consider calling up the Everton star for his next squad.
Ahead of Everton’s return to Premier League action against Sunderland this weekend, fellow Toffees midfielder Gareth Barry – a former England international himself – has offered some words of advice to Barkley.
Speaking to ITV, Barry advised Barkley to go and prove Allardyce wrong for leaving him out of his squad, but suggested that Barkley isn’t too worried about the situation now.
Tottenham’s Kyle Walker in action with Everton’s Gareth Barry
“Ross can feel a little bit hard done by,” said Barkley. “It’s a tough job being England manager and Sam said it was a really tough decision for him but in terms of Ross now he needs to use that to help him improve and not get down about it but prove the manager wrong and get himself in the next squad.”
“In a selfish way for Everton that means him performing well for Everton, so that can only be good for us. I trained with him and he didn’t seem too worried about it. He’s got that grit between his teeth that he’s going to prove the England manager wrong so hopefully he can put in good performances with Everton to do that,” he added.
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