But Sarri (below) admitted he had his doubts about the young English star when he took over from Antonio Conte as boss.
“At the beginning, in the first month, Ross was in trouble,” he said.
“But then he started to improve in every training session, in every match.
“I am surprised how he has adapted if I think back to the first month, but not if I think of the last two months.
“At the moment, from a tactical point of view, Ross is a step ahead of Loftus-cheek because Ruben in the first part of the season had two or three little injuries.”
And Sarri spelled out the attributes of Barkley, who is expecting a hot reception from Everton’s travelling fans tomorrow.
“I like Ross very much,” Sarri said.
“He is a complete player. He has physical qualities, he is fast. Technically he’s very good.
“He kicks well with his left foot and his right. He’s improving in moving the ball. He has become mentally quicker and he is improving tactically. He is on the way to becoming a very important midfielder, not only for us but also for England.”
Sarri will make a host of changes again for the visit of Everton after Chelsea’s sluggish performance in Belarus on Thursday night.
But Loftuscheek is a doubt after picking up a back problem. Eden Hazard, also recovering from a back injury, is almost certain to start after getting another hour of football under his belt in Belarus, where Olivier Giroud’s first club goal of the season sealed Chelsea qualification.
But Sarri warned: “Eden is doing very well but now he needs to improve his physical performance. He did not play badly but he can do better. I’m not sure if he is ready for 90 minutes yet.”
FOCUSED Mina training yesterday ahead of a big test against Chelsea YERRY MINA will make his full debut for his new club against an unbeaten Chelsea side spearheaded by Eden Hazard.He will run out at a venue whereEverton have not won in 29 attempts, stretching back to 1994. The mission might be described as ‘tough’.But whenever that word is used, Mina only has to think back to his escape from pocvoenrtteyxtin. Colombia to put everything intoMina, who was named by his mother after the mouse in Tom and Jerry, was brought up in Gauchene, a place where the average monthly income is 100 dollars a month per family. Life is genuinely tough.The man recruited byEverton bossMarco Silva(right) after some heroicWorld Cup exploits forColombia, said:“If I told you everything about my childhood, we would be here all day.“There were lots of difficulties for me at the start, but it was always the aim of mine to be a footballer and I had a strong conviction to do it.“Gauchene is quite difficult and a hard place to get out of.“Yes, I experienced some very tough moments in my home town but you draw on those experiences.“It makes you tough but there is not a day that goes by when I don’t look back and remember what it was like and every game I go into, I reflect on that past. It makes me all the more determined to succeed.”Mina has been kept waiting but gets his big chance tomorrow because on-loan Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma is not available to tackle his parent club.Some might say that avoiding an examination at the feet of Hazard would not be the worst game to duck.But Mina said: “There is a saying we have in Colombia: Nobody takes my mum’s food away from me!“It means we fight to the death and defend everything we can. Or you defend the shirt to the end. Try and get it off me!”