These 2 Everton players must improve if they are to challenge for the top six

Ross Barkley

He was supposed to be the next big-thing in English football, and still could be, but Ross Barkley isn’t influencing games enough for Everton this season.

The 23-year-old has scored twice and laid on just one assist in 12 Premier League starts for the Toffees and, for a player of his calibre and the position he plays in this Everton side, contributing to just three goals isn’t good enough – two of those contributions were in the first two games of the season.

Barkley may have created more chances than anyone in the Toffees team, but has just one assist to his name, and he is wasteful in front of goal, firing more shots off target (12) than he has on (11).

There’s clearly something missing from the midfielder’s game at the moment, and he was dropped from the side that drew with Manchester United last weekend.

When Everton need him most to bring something extra or different to their attacking play, he hasn’t quite been able to deliver, and needs to improve when he’s on the pitch to help Everton challenge for Europe.