Everton star Ross Barkley has revealed that he has been studying the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Paul Scholes in an effort to bring his game to the next level.

Barkley, 21, has emerged as a potential star of the future in recent years following a series of all-action midfield displays which have already won him 19 England caps.

Nevertheless, the youngster revealed that he strives to be better and admits that he studiously watches similar players of the past and present in order to reach their level at some stage in his blossoming career.

"Zidane was my favourite player growing up. I always watch clips of him. The way he moves with the ball, dictates play and creates chances," he is quoted as saying by The Mirror. "I watch clips of all players. I watched Mesut Ozil in the summer, and Yaya Toure. When I am at home and there is no footy on the telly, I will put YouTube on and watch clips. It won't be just the best clips, it will be clips of what they do throughout the whole game.

"I've been watching Santi Cazorla. He's good at creating chances and dictating play for the size of him. He is a great player. Who else? Paul Scholes. I've watched clips of Gascoigne, too, in that match against [at Euro 96] when he ran the game.

"I try to replicate what I have seen. I think it's good to do that. I will try to take bits into training. I will work on stuff that they are good at. You try to pull it off in training and then take it into games."

Barkley has netted five times in 13 Premier League appearances for the Toffees this season.