Bristol Rovers manager believes Josh Coburn could be gracing future World Cups for England claiming the on-loan Middlesbrough striker has all the tools to be an elite level striker, capable of mixing it and delivering moments of pure class.
Coburn delivered an accomplished performance leading the Gas attack as they beat Port Vale 1-0 via Aaron Collins’ late strike. Although the 20-year-old didn’t get on the scoresheet, the way he occupied Vale’s centre-backs and constantly battled, was of a striker far further in their career.
Coburn has proved a huge success in north Bristol and his loan is still in its infancy after he didn’t arrive in BS7 until late September due to an injury. Like Elliot Anderson and Connor Taylor before him, Coburn is showing signs at this early stage of his career that he’s destined for much bigger things and Barton insists, that with the right luck over injuries, he could one day be leading the line for the Three Lions.
“For 20, you’ll struggle to see someone come into League One and handle the game at the level that he does,” Barton said.
“I’ve said it many times before I think he’s a real talent, Middlesbrough have got a fantastic prospect on their hands and we’re proud and privileged to have him in our team and he’s grown from the regular rhythm of games. You can see his performances growing week by week and again he was head and shoulders the quality player on the pitch.
“When you watch him play, it’s just the things he does - his composure, his touch and he’s very much baby faced. If you saw a snapshot of his head you’d think he’s only 14 but he’s got that frame, but it’s not just that, it’s the way he uses it.
“Josh is a huge player in our team. But I think he has an enormous future out in front of him if he gets a little bit of luck with injuries, I think he could go on to play for England.
“For someone of that size, his athleticism, the way he goes looking for work; it’s just me saying this, so I’m not comparing him to this player but there’s a few strikers who you play against over the course of your journey as a player who do things differently.
“I always remember playing against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he went looking for physicality with the opposition centre-half and very rarely do you see forwards doing that, unless they’re the big bent nosed, physical centre-forward. Josh has got that level of looking for physicality but he’s got a real touch of class about him. It’s a rare combination.”
Rovers had to work hard to claim the three points at the Mem against a resolute but limited Port Vale side who looked set on digging in for a point, much to manager Darrell Clarke’s frustration. But Rovers stayed patient and, in Collins, had a match-winner to decide the contest as the Wales striker pressured the Vale defence and then fired home from 18 yards with his left foot.
“Honestly, I really enjoyed the opening exchanges of the game," Barton added. "It was a lovely crisp December afternoon - massive games in the World Cup on and a phenomenal turnout from our fans.
"I thought they were the better side in the first 10-15 minutes, they started well, was a nice end to end game, I thought to myself, ‘I’m enjoying this’ but it was a bit too open for my liking. But I think once the game settled, I thought we showed maturity and confidence.
“You just know Aaron is capable of scoring from anywhere and he really makes it himself with his endeavour and pressures the defender into a bit of a rushed clearance and then has the composure and quality to finish on what is allegedly his weaker foot. It was going to be a moment of magic to settle what was a tight contest.”
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