Everton midfielder Gareth Barry has called for Ross Barkley to find the consistency that will mark him out as one of Europe's finest young talents.

The England international has shown flashes of his ability this term but has struggled to find rhythm, with the Toffees languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League.

Barry talked up the talent of his 21-year-old teammate, and challenged him to make his mark on games more regularly.

He told reporters: "Ross is one of the best European talents and you need to find a way to be consistent because you will get opposition sides who will man mark him.

"Ross is still really young and people seem to forget that. He had a fantastic season last year. The big test for a player is to go on performing at that level week in week out, season after season.

"No player can consistently do that. He still has a big learning curve. His performance away against Young Boys last week was tremendous. He was like the team really - he performed at a different level than he did at home."

Roberto Martinez's side return to action when they host Young Boys in the Europa League on Thursday.