Everton Legend Alan Stubbs Believes Ross Barkley Isn't Good Enough for a Champions League Challenger

Former Everton captain Alan Stubbs believes Ross Barkley will leave the club next summer, but isn't good enough to start for a bigger club.

Speaking to the The Daily Star, Stubbs reckons 23-year-old Barkley will depart Goodison Park when his contract expires in the summer. However, despite interest from Tottenham and Arsenal, the former Toffees skipper doesn't think the England international is good enough to start for a club of that standard.

He said: "I saw that Tottenham wanted him over the summer and I can see why they like him but I can’t see Ross displacing Dele Alli.

"You look at Arsenal, could he replace [Mesut] Ozil, [Aaron] Ramsey, [Alexis] Sanchez? Is he going to play ahead of them? Probably not."

Barkley is yet to appear for Everton this season through injury, but was a subject of interest for Chelsea in the summer and looked set to move to Stamford Bridge before reports claims he changed his mind. 

The injured attacking midfielder enjoyed a good season under Ronald Koeman lin 2016/17, but will return to fitness under a new boss after the Dutchman was sacked following Sunday's 5-2 home loss to Arsenal, which has left the Toffees in the bottom three.

With Everton struggling both domestically and in Europe, Stubbs believes Barkley can still be crucial to helping the Toffees turn things round as the season goes on. 

He said: "It’s a difficult one for Barkley. I’d love to see him stay. Ross is someone that Everton needs. He has a lot to offer."