Tony Cascarino says that Ross Barkley should move abroad and play for a European giant.
Everton’s Ross Barkley
Football pundit Tony Cascarino believes that Everton midfielder Ross Barkley should move abroad and join a heavyweight European club.
Cascarino, who in his playing days moved to France to play for Marseille, believes that Barkley would benefit as a person and a player from living in a different culture.
Barkley is yet to sign a contract extension at Everton and doubts remain whether he would commit his future at his boyhood club.
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in signing him. Cascarino says he will probably stay in England because of the wages he can command in the Premier League.
Cascarino has cited the example of Gareth Bale who moved to Real Madrid from Tottenham for the then world record fee. Bale was a fantastic player at Spurs, but he took his game to a whole new level after moving to Spain.
Everton’s Ross Barkley
“I would love a young British player such as Ross Barkley to take a punt and join a European giant, like my old Ireland team-mate Liam Brady did when he left Arsenal for Juventus at the age of 24,” wrote Cascarino in his column for The Times.
“Barkley would benefit as a person and a player from living in a different culture and playing a different brand of football. I’m slightly biased as I played abroad but I cannot recommend it highly enough.
“I look at Barkley’s situation with his contract at Everton and, even though I doubt he will, I think he should take a leaf out of Brady’s book. He will probably stay in England because of the wages he can command in the Premier League.
“But look at how Gareth Bale has blossomed at Real Madrid. He was brilliant at Tottenham Hotspur but has gone up a level in Spain.”
Should Barkley move abroad?
First of all, the comparison with Bale is not apt. The reason being, Bale was playing at a higher level than Barkley when he was at Spurs (PFA player of the year, single handedly took them to the Champions League spot) and therefore could attract interest from clubs like Real Madrid.
Barkley, on the other hand, is a hugely talented player, but he is inconsistent. He is not even the best player for his club. Which heavyweight club will take the risk of signing him?? Real Madrid? Barcelona? Atletico? Bayern? Dortmund? Monaco? PSG? Nope.
Secondly, Bale already left his comfort zone when he joined Spurs from Southampton at an early age. Barkley has always played for his boyhood club, and moving to a different club / top four club in England in itself will be a huge shift from his comfort zone.
Barkley has a lot to prove. He has not done anything yet to attract top clubs around Europe. And it is better to play for a club like Tottenham, Man City or Liverpool, than move to a mid-table club in Spain, Italy or France.
Everton’s Ross Barkley
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