Ross Barkley and Dele Alli are highly valued by Everton and Spurs respectively.
There are plenty of similarities between the pair – both are young talented players, both play in a similar attacking midfield position and both have come under fire this season for poor performances.
When Everton and Tottenham met on the opening day of the season, Dele Alli was criticised for under-performing while Ross Barkley put in an impressive performance, even scoring for the Blues. Barkley showed signs that he was finally living up to his potential.
Ross Barkley is still to live up to his full potential at Everton
Since the opening day of the season, Dele Alli has been one of Spurs’ best players. His recent goal against Manchester City on the weekend helped end Pep Guardiola’s unbeaten start to the Premier League.
Out of the two, Dele Alli has impressed former England manager Sam Allardyce and current interim manager Gareth Southgate the most, earning two call-ups for England’s World Cup qualifiers.
Both Allardyce and Southgate have ignored Barkley’s talent. The 22-year-old hasn’t lived up to his opening season performance and the midfielder’s unpredictable form at Everton has even left his place in the Blues starting line-up questioned.
With seven Premier League games played so far this season, which player comes out on top?
It may come as a surprise to find that statistically, the Everton man has the edge: Barkley has scored 1 goal, made 1 assist, 275 passes, 21 accurate long balls and 21 crosses with a cross accuracy of 33%.
Although Dele Alli has scored more goals than Barkley with 2, the 20-year-old has made 0 assists, 253 passes, 19 accurate long balls and 3 crosses with a cross accuracy of 0%.
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