Last season Everton’s Ross Barkley enjoyed a golden year which brought his talent to the attention of England’s biggest teams. But this time around, the midfielder hasn’t been able to match that success. Everton have suffered from their extra Europa League fixtures and a summer exodus seems likely for their top players. If Barkley wants to regain his previous form then it might be time to leave Everton behind.

Barkley joined the Toffees as an 11-year-old playing in their youth teams before making his senior debut in 2011 against Queens Park Rangers. Loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United followed before manager David Moyes brought him back into the fold and into the limelight.

His breakthrough season came in 2013-14 where the young midfielder gained the attention of the Premier League for his pace and power and subsequently finished the year with seven important goals and three assists. As with most young talents from mid-table clubs Barkley became the focus of a bidding war. And though many expected him to join a big club like Arsenal or Chelsea, Barkley stayed loyal and was back with the squad for their 2014-15 campaign.

Finishing an impressive fifth the previous season meant that Everton had booked their placed in this year’s Europa League starting with a fixture against German side Wolfsburg. Everton won 4-1 but despite playing well in the competition it appeared that the extra Thursday fixture and travelling around Europe was affecting their weekend Premier League matches.

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Even the promising Barkley didn’t appear to be coping, having a much slower and less productive season than expected.

Although Barkley signed a new contract with Everton last year that could see him at Goodison Park until 2018 I think a move would be right for him.

This season Everton have proved that they are not the ideal team to develop his talent. Last season the player had the world at his feet and now less than 12 months later Barkley has underwhelmed and looks to have taken a huge backward step.

Barkley would suit a relatively big team like Arsenal. The Gunners have a good reputation when it comes to developing young talents plus providing consistent access to Champions League football. Every season Arsenal have a busy fixture list which means a decent amount of squad rotation and therefore opportunities for all.

Ultimately Everton crashed out of the Europa League after suffering a humbling 6-4 aggregate defeat to Dynamo Kiev and considering that with only eight matches remaining they sit in 13th they will definitely not be playing in Europe at all next season. That’s bad news for Barkley who though still young is not getting the exposure to foreign leagues and potentially a higher quality of opposition than some of the other young players out there like Eden Hazard and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

It is true that Barkley is an England international and will play the Premier League’s giants as part of the normal seasonal campaign but the more he plays at the highest levels surely the quicker he’ll improve.

If loyalty to his current club is his main concern right now then there is no reason why he shouldn’t stay at Everton for another season. But Barkley has been described by many as having the potential to be one of England’s best and a talent like that should be playing in the Champion’s League and challenging for the title not sitting in the bottom half of the table.

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