The comparisons with Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne were never more than a pundit’s stream of consciousness away. The rumours of admiring glances from the country’s biggest clubs would rarely subside. The queue to crown Ross Barkley as England’s Next Big Thing merely grew in numbers with each passing day.

“There is no doubt in my mind he will be the best player England has ever had,” former Everton manager Roberto Martinez once said, taking a cumbersome metaphorical burden and placing it neatly on Barkley’s broad shoulders. Rooney, the country’s all-time record goalscorer? Gascoigne, the icon who defined an era? Think bigger; think better; think Barkley.

“We have got to that point where Ross Barkley knows how special he is and what he does,” Martinez would add in a later interview. Throughout his three-year reign at Goodison Park, the Spaniard would grasp every opportunity to tell the world about the brilliance of Barkley. He would compare him to Rooney and Michael Ballack – greats of the game – and grant him freedom, licence to roam. This was England’s greatest hope, a player for whom the future was merely material, and he was the sculptor.

If Martinez cast himself as the proud parent living vicariously through his son, Ronald Koeman has played his own role perfectly. The Dutchman assumed the position of villainous headmaster upon being appointed Martinez’s successor in the summer. He has no favourites – no one player is “special” or “the best”. All students are equal; all students must adhere to the same strict rules. There would be no more freedom, no more special dispensation. Egos would not be massaged and favourites would not be picked as they were previously. Mistakes would be examined, not excused. Criticism would be constructive, not non-existent. Expectations would be managed, not magnified.

Were Barkley in any doubt of his new manager’s more exacting standards, conclusive proof came just four games into the season. The midfielder already had a goal and an assist to his name in his previous three matches, but was dire in the first half of a September fixture against Sunderland, giving the ball away 11 times in the first half. Martinez would likely have overlooked such glaring under-performance, but Koeman was unimpressed. He substituted Barkley at half-time, explaining that “he didn’t play at the level I expect”.

He was restored to the line-up for the following game, but the message was clear: For too long Barkley had been over-indulged; he would now be on a strict diet of realistic expectations and tough love.

That the 23-year-old is now in the midst of his best form this season is no coincidence. Koeman has found a home for Barkley in a midfield three alongside Gareth Barry and Tom Davies, not in a free role. He has been the unsung hero in recent weeks, scoring against Hull, assisting two goals in the demolition of Manchester City, and being arguably the man of the match against Crystal Palace last weekend. Brilliance and maturity has come with an unfamiliar understated undertone, although his manager has recognised his efforts. “We speak a lot with Ross about what we need in the team from his qualities,” Koeman said. “And we know if you are a midfield player you need to run, you need to work, you need to defend. Against Crystal Palace he was really that player in the midfield.”

We are now seeing a more developed, rounded Barkley. He makes 2.4 key passes per game – his most ever in a Premier League campaign by far – with only five players providing more in the top flight. He ranked 29th with 1.5 key passes per game last season – the same as Jurado, and fewer than Jordan Veretout. And although Koeman has removed the freedom from his role, that Barkley is no longer encouraged to take risks is a misconception. While he completes fewer than half the amount of dribbles compared to last campaign (1.5 vs 3.1), he is dispossessed more often (2.7 vs 2) and has more unsuccessful touches (2.1 vs 1.6).

Much of that is down to the knowledge that he is protected by both Barry and Davies, as well as Idrissa Gueye previously and Morgan Schneiderlin in the future. Martinez might have spoken effusively about Barkley’s talents, but he managed him incorrectly. He granted the 23-year-old a free role, yet tried to build a side around him. The result was eight goals and eight assists for the player last season, but chronic failure from the team. Koeman is not as glowing in his praise, but he has given the player a fixed position with clear objectives and has built a side to accommodate him. Everton are seventh, and Barkley has three goals and four assists. As Koeman stated earlier this season: “One of his biggest qualities is his creativity in front, but he needs to have other players around him.”

England stand to benefit from Barkley’s improvement, too. His last international appearance came last May, and his last start for his country two months prior. A more well-rounded, team-centric Barkley will appeal to Gareth Southgate.

The emergence of Davies in particular has been revelatory for Barkley. The 18-year-old not only helps provide the safety net which allows his teammate to express himself, but he, along with Mason Holgate, has displaced his teammate as the latest great young hope. It is no longer Barkley’s burden to bear. He is now Everton and England’s Last Big Thing, and his time away from the spotlight has helped immeasurably.

It has been a long road for Barkley and Koeman, but they are now reaping the dividends of hard work from both sides. Even as late as December, Neil Ashton of The Sun wrote that ‘nobody has quite cracked the Barkley code, but Martinez came as close to anybody’, and described the player as ‘a confused kid’ under Koeman. The glare of hindsight reveals the folly of such statements; the headmaster has improved the pupil without damaging Everton as a whole. Martinez could never manage that balance.

Matt Stead