The Everton star was left out of the most recent England squad.
Paul Merson has told Sky Sports he was shocked by Ross Barkley’s omission from the England squad.
The Everton midfielder was dropped from Sam Allardyce’s first squad last week for the World Cup qualifying clash with Slovakia.
It capped off what has been a miserable period in the young midfielder’s international career after former England boss Roy Hodgson left him on the bench for the whole of Euro 2016 earlier this summer.
Allardyce’s decision has been criticised in some areas, especially given the player has started this campaign strongly under new Toffees boss Ronald Koeman.
And Merson has added his voice to the criticism, saying he thinks it was shocking for him to be overlooked this month,
“I was shocked he wasn’t in the squad,” he told Sky Sports.
“I’m not saying he has to play but he has to be in the squad surely. He’s a young lad, bright future. He has to be there. For him not to be in the squad was shocking.”
It remains to be seen if Barkley can break back into the England setup in the near future after this snub.
Allardyce has insisted that his squad will be picked based on performances rather than reputation, something he has already shown with the inclusion of West Ham United winger Michail Antonio.
Indeed, that made Barkley’s omission more confusing and if he continues to impress as he has so far, it is hard to imagine he will be left out for much longer.
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