Dazzling Barkley is choice bet for England’s World Cup squad
Published:Ross Barkley’s latest magical performance in Everton colours makes him a great bet to gain inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup in Brazil, at odds of 6/4 with Ladbrokes.
It’s so often the way with young talent in football that hype is as misguided as it is unwarranted, but not in the case of Everton’s 20-year-old midfielder Barkley.
Even before the precocious midfielder turned up at the Emirates to play an instrumental part in Everton’s stand-out performance of the season against Arsenal, there had been signs that the Toffees were in possession of a special talent.
Having exploded onto the Premier League scene on the very first day of the season, by scoring a rasping 20-yard drive against Norwich, Barkley wasted no time in announcing he was going to be a regular feature in Roberto Martinez’s side.
Since then, his influence on the Toffees’ impressive start to the season has grown and grown, culminating in three outstanding performances against Liverpool, Manchester United and the best of the lot against leaders Arsenal.
Barkley is not only fearless in possession and technically gifted; he ghosts past players as if they weren’t there.
And, as if making fools of his fellow professionals wasn’t enough, he has vision, composure and an excellent shot on him just for good measure.
Normally fairly frugal with his praise, BBC pundit Alan Hansen was left to purr in the Match of the Day studio following Barkley’s mesmerising display at Arsenal as he went on to exclaim: “He (Barkley) has absolutely everything.”
Crucially, the man who matters most was in the Emirates stands and after already handing the youngster three cameo England caps so far, the Everton man is sure to have moved higher up in Roy Hodgson’s summer plans.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim three £10 free bets when you bet £10.
