• England

Rio rather than Rooney inspired Barkley

Ross Barkley joined Wayne Rooney in England's squad for the Brazil World Cup earlier this year © Getty Images

Enlarge

He is seen by many as the heir to Wayne Rooney's No.10 shirt with England, but Ross Barkley has revealed that he aspired to play like Rio Ferdinand when he was a boy.

While Rooney came through the Everton ranks as a striker, Barkley began his footballing education at Goodison Park as a centre-back before switching to midfield as a teenager.

The aura of disappointment

Wayne Rooney will lead England against Slovenia on Saturday © Getty Images

• Wayne Rooney may win his 100th cap for England on Saturday but he has failed to fulfil his potential and will never be a great player, says Simon Barnes.
  
  Click here to read the full article

"My ambition was always to be a ball-playing centre half, like Rio Ferdinand," said Barkley, who is preparing to face Slovenia with England at Wembley on Saturday. "Rooney came through as a striker. I came through as a midfielder, but when I was younger, I was a defender and I enjoyed it. I played there until Under 14s. So, I was never really compared to Rooney.

"At the moment, I see myself as a No 10. Because I'm young, I'll play anywhere but in the future, hopefully in the middle of the park."

Last season was a breakthrough for Barkley as the 20-year-old secured a place in the Everton first team before being called up to Roy Hodgson's England squad for the Brazil World Cup.

He looked every inch a star in the making in June when he impressed on his first England start in a warm-up match against Ecuador, nutmegging one defender before setting up Rickie Lambert to score in the 2-2 draw.

His performance sparked debate as to whether Barkley should start for England in Brazil, possibly even at the expense of Rooney, so it came as a surprise that Hodgson criticised the midfielder in his post-match interview.

"I'm not prepared to address your obsession with Ross Barkley," he snapped. "He lost the ball an awful lot of times. If he's going to be the player we want him to be, he has to make better decisions of when he turns with the ball."

"I learned from that experience," Barkley said of being criticised. "I'm the type of player who takes risks so now and then I'm going to give the ball away, but I just have to learn not to give the ball away in silly areas of the pitch.

"And I learned from being around the likes of [Leighton] Baines, Stevie [Gerrard] and [Frank] Lampard this summer. I learned that it's not a kids' game anymore."

Barkley insisted he would not be swept up in the comparisons with Rooney or even Paul Gascoigne, after Hodgson suggested he could have the same impact as the former England star.

"I haven't really felt any expectation," Barkley said. "I just focus on getting better and doing things right on the pitch. Everything else takes care of itself. It's not hard. I've always had my feet on the ground and I've never forgotten where I come from.

"It's great be compared to Paul Scholes and the Wayne Rooneys of this world. But I'm just focused on being myself and playing my own game and hopefully getting better."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd