Dream come true for Everton’s stand-in skipper Barkley

Ross Barkley admits he is living his dream under Ronald Koeman at Everton after the Dutchman handed him the captain’s armband for the first time in his career.

The 22-year-old, born on Merseyside, has been with Everton since he was snapped up at just 11 but lead from the front against Yeovil Town in the EFL Cup in the absence of Phil Jagielka.

Barkley skippered the side to a 4-0 win on Tuesday evening, notching up a goal to mark the occasion with a clever free-kick after Aaron Lennon’s opener.

“I am over the moon to captain the side,” he said. “It is every Evertonian’s dream to lead out the club and it is a dream come true for me. I’m glad that we won as well.

“Just before the game, the manager said that I would have the armband and just told me what it means to captain Everton Football Club.

“He told me to go out there and show what I could do. We did that as a team.

“It was great to get the goal as well. I saw a gap. They only had one man in the wall so I thought ‘why not?’ – thankfully it came off. I was pleased to see it go in the back of the net.

“It was important we got through to the next round, which we did.”