Five youngsters who can make it to Roy Hodgson's World Cup party

Ross Barkley

Spoken about in the same breath as Wayne Rooney by David Moyes two weeks ago, it’s clear that big things lie ahead for Ross Barkley.

The 19-year-old is fast making Evertonians forget about the loss of Marouane Fellaini to Manchester United, and in his seven league appearances so far this season, he’s done enough to suggest that Hodgson should be making his way to Goodison Park a fair few times this season.

With two impressive goals and nine chances created, Barkley’s offensive threat is a huge bonus when allied to his defensive abilities; the midfielder has won 71% of his duels including eight of ten tackles, as well as a superb take-on rate of 29/39 (74%).

With an average pass accuracy of 88%, if Hodgson has question marks over Frank Lampard’s defensive discipline or Michael Carrick’s attacking potency, then Barkley could well be a perfect holding partner to Gerrard in the middle.