Jose Baxter draws comparison with Rooney
EVERTON assistant manager Steve Round believes Jose Baxter can emulate the emergence of Wayne Rooney.
The Bootle-born 16-year-old has burst on to the scene during pre-season with a series of impressive displays.
Baxter again caught the eye with a 23-minute substitue appearance as Everton drew 1-1 at home to PSV Eindhoven in their final pre-season friendly on Saturday.
Bazter showed flashes of skill and confidence beyond his years, drawing immediate comparisons with Rooney, who also emerged on the Everton stage at a similar age. And assistant manager Round was delighted at the young midfielder's display.
"Baxter has a talent to define the game, which is important," he said. "He can make the moment that matters that wins you a game, whether it be a through pass, a goal, a dribble. What ever it may be.
"He has that talent in him. That is something you cannot give a player, it is just inside them. You have to nurture it and bring it out of him, so he can perform at the highest level.
"It might be a little earlier for him at the moment. It is wrong to compare him with Wayne Rooney. Wayne was a man, physically, when he was 16, he was strong and very advanced.
"But with Jose we may have to wait a little longer for that strength. But if he continues the way he is and maintains the right attitude to learning, there is no reason why he cannot be in our first team very soon."
PSV led early on through Nordin Amrabat at the weekend before Mikel Arteta's 85th-minute penalty secured Everton a draw.
And Round said of the current squad: "Pre-season has been tough because we have really put the players through it, but I have been impressed with their fitness levels, attitude and energy.
"Now the fitness is showing through. The performance against PSV, Dutch champions again, confirmed that. They wanted to slow the game down, we wanted it speeded up to Premier League levels, so it was a good challenge.
"Such a work-out will be of great help when our European matches come around."
He added: "The fans may be looking for big money signings, but they can also see the quality coming through the youth ranks.
"I recall things were said a few years back when Manchester United went with youth and the likes of David Beckham and Paul Scholes came through.
"United at that time did not seem to need to spend big on lots of players with good youngsters around.
"It is great for our club that we have so many good kids in reserve here."
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