Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley has received enormous praise from former Liverpool center back Jamie Carragher after his rise to top form this season.
The former Everton star was on the fringes of the Chelsea squad last season but has turned things around in his favor in this campaign under Maurizio Sarri. The Italian tactician who prefers a three-man midfield has often gone for Barkley as one of his trio there.
Barkley competes for the third position with Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with N’Golo Kante and Jorginho occupying the other two spots.
According to Carragher, Barkley can become a key cog in Gareth Southgate’s England setup. The pundit believes Barkley has shown talent beyond Three Lions regular Dele Alli and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard.
“The stats show a difference. The big one is dribbles. We all love to see players dribble but football is a passing game and maybe two or three times a game you have the chance to go on a dribble. It can’t be five times a game, and I think that was where he was losing the ball at Everton. Now he is making better decisions.
Also look at the distance covered, I think he’s fitter, stronger and maybe that is something to do with what we are seeing now at Chelsea. He was really good for Everton but towards the end of his time there his decision-making wasn’t great. He dribbled when he should have passed, he passed when he should have dribbled, and the crowd got on his back and he found it difficult at times. Maybe it was the pressure of being the main man at Everton to create something.”
Jamie Carragher, Goal
Barkley has made 12 appearances this season in all competitions this season, already more than the four he completed in his first six months at the club.
