Thursday 24 September 2015 10:02, UK
Gareth Barry believes Everton team-mate Ross Barkley can reach the heights of England greats Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard with a little bit more consistency.
The 21-year-old scored the equaliser in his 100th appearance for the club in their 2-1 win over Championship side Reading in the third round of the Capital One Cup.
His fellow-Everton midfielder Barry is convinced Barkley, who has won 15 England caps, has what it takes to reach the level of former captain Gerrard and another Champions League winner Lampard.
"Ross has got all the potential to become as good as them," Barry said.
"He's got everything that they had to match their ability, but the one thing he's going to need is consistency - performing, scoring goals, assisting on a regular basis, and those two players did that for 10, 12 years in the Premier League, so that's the target for Ross.
"He has got all the ability to go on and be a really top player. He's obviously still young so he's still learning certain parts of the game."
Barkley scored just two goals in 36 appearances last season but has been in fine form this campaign, scoring four times in eight matches.
"Last season was a bit up and down, a massive learning curve for him, so I'm not surprised this year he's really kicked off again," Barry said.
Manager Roberto Martinez has also heaped praise on the Everton academy graduate and his growing maturity.
"Ross has gone to a different level," Martinez told the club's official website.
"For someone so young to have 100 games for the club is an immense landmark, but he's a completely different player to what we saw last season.
"His maturity and the fact he is always controlling the big moments. We're extremely pleased and excited to see him develop into a very special player."
