Jamie Carragher raised an interesting point on Sky Sports’ programme Monday Night football this week over Chelsea’s in-form midfielder Ross Barkley.
The 24-year-old has been directly involved in six goals during his last three Premier League games, as he begins to recapture the kind of form at Stamford Bridge that saw him rise to fame with former club Everton.
Carragher has stated that Barkley is not behind Tottenham’s Dele Alli or Manchester United’s Jesse Lingered when it comes to ability, who are two of his England international teammates.
“This lad (Barkley)has got to become mentally stronger, but in terms of ability, you think of the players who played in that position in the World Cup – Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard – and maybe you could argue they are better mentally but they are not better ability wise,” Carragher said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
But can Chelsea fans class Barkley in the same bracket as Spurs counterpart Alli yet?
Both are attacking midfielders that have a good level of Premier League experience, but the Blues playmaker certainly has more to prove despite being two years older than 22-year-old Alli.
Barkley is now back in the England picture after flourishing under Maurizio Sarri at club level this term and he now has three goals under his belt.
He has to try consolidate his position in the Chelsea XI with more match-winning contributions and it looks like he’s growing in confidence every week.
Spurs rival Alli has been a top performer for the last couple of years and was directly involved in 31 goals across all competitions, which is why he is out in front as the best English creative midfielder around right now.
But it will be interesting to see where they are both at in a few months time if Barkley can continue his impressive form.
Barkley does have colossal potential that Sarri appears to be tapping into and recent weeks suggests he can push Alli all the way when it comes to battling for an England spot.