The ultimate fork in the road

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Just today I was discussing with my best friend on the current situation in England, specifically with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and what his post-Mata departure plans are going to be.  There has been incredibly strong speculation that Mata was allowed to leave Stamford Bridge to make room for an audacious raid on Goodison Park for the services of Ross Barkley.  Not to be stopped there, Mourinho also wants to bring in Southampton’s Luke Shaw as soon as possible as the replacement for the aging Ashley Cole – thus, the discussion with myself and my friend began in earnest, however both him and I agreed on the following that I am about to share with you.

Luke Shaw, without a doubt, should be leaving Southampton with the utmost haste if he is to improve his game to the standard that would see him solidify the argument that he is England’s next first choice left back for the next ten years.  It may be a high profile move, but going to Chelsea affords him the ability to play in Champions League, with far higher expectations, under a top class manager and with players around him that will help him elevate his game.  A move this transfer window would also give him the rest of the season to learn from Ashley Cole, who is arguably one of the best left-backs in England’s history and certainly in the Premiership era – valuable experience that would no doubt benefit Shaw monumentally.  More importantly, unless Southampton start offering ritualistic sacrifices to traditional Celtic gods of British days gone by, they will never become a upper tier side in the BPL which would certainly hamper his development, which in turn would not bode well for the national team set up.  A move to a top club for Shaw (ideally he needs to go to Chelsea or United as they have aging left-backs who are on the outs very soon) is the most logical course of action.  In a position where Mourinho does not need to stack options, where there is a clear first choice and a back up, Shaw’s position as the eventual first choice once Cole departs or retires would be all but set in stone.

Let’s turn now to Ross Barkley, in a situation that is far more complicated with consequences that are far more reaching, not only for the national team, but his career as a whole.  Flashback to two years ago when Jack Rodwell left Everton to Manchester City – at the time, City’s midfield was not stocked to the rafters with talented players, he would see time on the pitch and he should still progress in his development as a player both technically and mentally.  The problem was, Rodwell went to City, whose coffers are literally endless.  Two years on, City have brought in a host of players, central midfielders included.  Where is Rodwell now? Naturally he is either on the bench, or more often than not, not even on the team sheet at all.  Rodwell was a promising talent, he showed that plenty for Moyes’ Everton, but he was not smart in moving to a club who will freely spend due to their liberal financial policies.  The end result is that now his development and his career have hit a massive wall and it will take him moving away from City to a smaller club who is guaranteed to see him play consistent first team football if he is to salvage his career.  Rodwell was once one of the central players supporters in England were excited about in regards to his development, now he is not even mentioned in the discussion of players who deserve to be apart of the national team set-up moving forward after this summers World Cup.

Fast-forward back to the current debacle in regards to Barkley.  Should he move to Chelsea, he moves to a footballing system under Mourinho where, not only would he be forced to rotate with the host of other attacking players in the pecking order, but there is no telling what other transfer windows will hold – it’s entirely probable that Chelsea will routinely bring in player after player, as they have always done.  Is that a situation Barkley should want to risk?  The appeal of going to Chelsea is the usual that all rising footballers look at with eyes gleaming – large weekly wages, the ability to play in the Champions League and challenge for silverware domestically in all competitions from the minute they arrive.  But should that be enough of a reason to stagnate your entire career?  Barkley, as we have stated in previous articles, is arguably the most talented young player England have currently, many pundits and coaches alike have looked at him and expect huge things from him over the coming years – that will not come to pass if he is not handled properly as he matures and develops as a player.

The argument for Barkley staying at Everton, at least to myself (and my best friend with whom as I mentioned earlier I discussed this with), is that Martinez has earmarked Barkley as a key figure in his future plans the Toffees.  With his change of footballing mentality at the club, Barkley could surely continue to shine in a system that now is attack minded, rather than the system run under Moyes.  Apart from that, it is blatantly clear that going forward, Martinez trusts Barkley to pull the strings and has faith in his creative abilities, despite his tender age – Moyes did not.  Barkley is a player that Martinez can build a title challenging side around over the next few years – he is guaranteed to be the focal point, the talisman, while at Chelsea that is unknown.  Further more, to be able to be one of the key factors in Martinez’ ambitious plans for Everton to crack into the top four routinely and elevate the profile of the club should be something that any player would be excited about.  A young manager and his young talisman together propelling the club to heights they have not been to in decades.  Barkley would also not have to worry about Martinez spending massive sums of money every transfer window that could eventually threaten his first team place.  Martinez will spend, but not in the ways that clubs with billionaire owners tend to.

Do not misunderstand me – from my position, it’s very easy to say that he should turn down huge sums of money, and the chance to win things for a system that may not even work in the long run under Martinez.  But even if the Martinez project fails in the next few years, in that time, Barkley will then be around 24 or 25 years old, about to hit his prime – would a move to a massive club surely then make more sense?  Barkley must be careful and he must prioritize what is more important to him on a personal level, whether making money immediately is what he seeks or if he truly wants to guide his footballing career on the right path to long term success, and in the mean time, he could very well create something special at Everton.  Both a move to Chelsea and prolonging his stay at Everton both offer unknown outcomes,  but at least for me, the outcome that ensures that I am playing the sport I love, seems the most reasonable decision to make.

For Shaw, the key to his career must be to move, as Southampton cannot offer him the required level of football to elevate him.  For Barkley, as Everton are in a real position to qualify for Europe after this season, to wait may be the most prudent decision – after all, the cautionary tale of Jack Rodwell should be enough to consider.