Ronald Koeman has said Ross Barkley’s omission against Manchester City should serve as a wake-up call to the Everton midfielder about the need for more aggression and end product in his game.
Barkley was an unused substitute at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday when Everton held the Premier League leaders to a 1-1 draw. The 22-year-old had appeared in 55 consecutive league games before that but unlike earlier in the season, when Koeman told the England international to raise his game “in all aspects”, the manager took a tactical decision to demote Barkley, with Gerard Deulofeu recalled to support Romelu Lukaku.
The Everton manager hinted at a recall for Barkley at Burnley on Saturday but, not for the first time since replacing Roberto Martínez, has made it clear he expects more from the creative midfielder, who has also been overlooked at international level this season. “Maybe last weekend was a wake-up call for him,” Koeman said.
“He knows exactly what I expect because maybe he is one of the players who has the most attention from the manager. He needs the support of the manager but the manager will always select the best 11 to start a particular game. That means you can be left out because you are not happy with the performances of an individual player or you are making a tactical decision but he knows he needs to improve.
“Yes, he’s young but after four years of playing in the Premier League don’t mention that too much. He is experienced, and yes, he needs to perform. That’s what everybody needs to do.”
Koeman has called for improvement from Barkley, Yannick Bolasie and all Everton’s forward players, with Lukaku shouldering responsibility for goals in recent weeks. The Belgium international has scored six of Everton’s last eight goals in the Premier League and, given his “No10” role in the team, Koeman admits Barkley must share the load.
“Ross will always be the most offensive midfield player in my team,” the Everton manager said. “OK, you can play differently with two holding or one holding midfielders and two more offensively. One of his biggest qualities is his creativity in front but he needs to have other players around him.
“Romelu needs other players to show more productivity and Ross is one who needs to do that if you play in that position. When he gets a little bit older then maybe he can drop back deeper but now it is in my mind to have him forward and be creative.
“He’s one of those players who have a lot of creativity in his football – he needs to be around Rom to create and support and in that he needs to improve. That’s what I like to see from him. I want to see him do more pressing and be more aggressive offensively and defensively, but that applies to all the players in the front, not only Ross Barkley.”
Koeman delivered a brutal put-down to Oumar Niasse when it was suggested the £13.5m striker, who has been ostracised by the Everton manager since the summer, could provide a solution to his lack of goalscoring options. Niasse has been marginalised to the under-23s team by Koeman but continued his productive form for David Unsworth’s team on Monday with a hat-trick in a 6-3 win at Reading. “I hope he will score a hat-trick every week for the under-23s,” said the Dutch coach.
The Everton manager confirmed that Leighton Baines is set for an extended spell on the sidelines having suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. The 31-year-old has not featured since last month’s win over Middlesbrough and reported a tight hamstring after playing 45 minutes of a behind-closed-doors game against Wigan Athletic. “It may be another one or two weeks,” Koeman said.
