Paul Merson says that if Ross Barkley were Spanish he’d be in their national team.
Writing in his weekly column in the Daily Star, Merson said that he was surprised that Barkley was left out of England’s squad.
He believes that England are guilty of wasting his talent, and believes he should be included in order to learn from Wayne Rooney.
“He had a blinder against West Ham and surely he’s going to be around for years to come. You’ve got to pick players like that for the future,” Merson said.
“If he was Spanish you can guarantee he’d already be playing regularly for Spain. We’re wasting his talent.
“Other countries must laugh at us when they see how we treat kids like Barkley. We complain about too many foreign players coming to play in the Premier League.
“But then we can’t find room in the England squad for one of the most talented young players we’ve got.
“Being in the England squad would help him because he’s got Wayne Rooney there to learn from.
“Sometimes Barkley is guilty of making bad decisions. But if Everton are patient __with him and he gets a good run in the team it could start to work for him again.
“He has a good coach there now in Ronald Koeman who should be able to get the best out of him. But it’s time he was back in the England squad.”