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Liverpool-born Ross is a versatile midfielder who has progressed through Everton's academy. 

A box-to-box player, he has been with the Blues since the age of 11 and was playing for the Under-18s at 15.

Ross represented England at Under-16 level seven times and scored twice, before moving up to the Under-17 age group early in the 2009/10 season. 

He made his first appearance for the Three Lions’ Under-17s side against Kazakhstan in October 2009, and was also a part of England's victorious 2010 European Championship side in Liechtenstein in May 2010.

Barkley scored the only goal in a group stage victory over Greece in the tournament, and played a full 90-minutes in their 2-1 victory over Spain in the final to clinch England's first ever European Under-17 title.

The youngster sees his heading ability, tackling and his passing as his strengths, and admited players like Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill helped him during his development.

In 2010/11, as a first year academy player, he played the first game of the season for the Blues' reserves, netting in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

He was named on the subs' bench for the home Premier League game against Newcastle in mid-September but soon a horrific triple leg-break whilst on England Under-19s duty ended his season prematurely.

One bright point was the professional contract he signed upon turning 17 in December.

After appearing regularly for the first team in Everton's pre-season campaign in 2011, Barkley made his first professional start in the 1-0 defeat to QPR at Goodison Park in August - earning positive reviews for an energetic display.

His next boost was an England Under-21 debut in September 2011 in the 4-1 win over Israel. A month later Barkley made his first competitive start against Norway coming into the side in place of Blues colleague Jack Rodwell in a 2-1 victory.

In December 2011, shortly after turning 18, he penned a new long-term deal at Everton, tying him to the Club until 2016.