First up, we visit Goodison Park and a young scouser making an impressive first team debut. Sound familiar? No not Rooney this time, Ross Barkley - the seventeen year old Midfielder who would have made his debut at the same age as Rooney if it wasn't for a double leg break he suffered playing for England U19s. But one year later and he has already been compared to Steve Gerrard and of having the same impact that Rooney had in his first game back in 2002.
Starting out in his career Ross played in a more advanced striker's role and once scored a hat-trick for his school team in a final that saw him named Man of The Match with the award presented to him by Rafa Benitez. By this time he'd already signed with Everton and would go on to play for England U16s at the age of fourteen, before going on the captain the side.
The Stevie G comparisons come from his ability to arrive late in the box to latch onto the ball much like the Liverpool captain.
Coming back from his injury Ross featured predominately in Everton's pre-season friendlies and David Moyes had no hesitation throwing him into first team football.
Although on the losing side against QPR this weekend he was named Man of The Match (again) with his confident, intelligent play, having more shots on target than the rest of his more experienced teammates.
His fellow pros have also been quick to heap praise on the youngster, with Tim Cahill quoted as saying that "He is going to be a massive asset to Everton" as well as adding that "I have been lucky enough to have played with some great players in my career but I do not think I have ever seen a talent like Ross"
With Everton's recent financial problems now out in the open, Barkley could be saving David Moyes a pretty penny for years to come.
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