The Everton midfielder was left out of Sam Allardyce’s first England squad.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Everton manager Ronald Koeman has told Ross Barkley he must go out and make it impossible for Sam Allardyce to leave him out of the England squad.
The midfielder was a surprise exclusion from Allardyce’s first squad for the clash with Slovakia last week.
It capped off a disappointing summer for him after former Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson left him on the bench for the whole of their disastrous Euro 2016 campaign.
There are now doubts about his international future, with him likely to find it hard to get in the number 10 role ahead of Wayne Rooney or Dele Alli.
Nonetheless, if Barkley impresses this season it is unlikely he will be left out in future, and Koeman has told him that he must do just that to ensure he makes it back in as soon as possible.
“What he needs to do is play good football, show his qualities and show Big Sam every weekend that he needs to select the player,” he told his pre-match press conference.
If Barkley’s early-season form is anything to go by, he will likely be back in the England team sooner rather than later.
The midfielder has started this campaign under Koeman on fire to help his side to their best start in a decade.
Should that form continue, then the calls for him to return to the England setup will arrive quickly.
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