Whisper it - who does Tom Davies remind me of?

According to some sources, 18 year old Tom Davies was Everton's man of the match again on Saturday in their win at Crystal Palace, though some gave it to a rejuvenated Ross Barkley. Davies certainly was the previous week in the 4-0 win against Manchester City, which I'm still on a high about. In the City game Davies seemed to be everywhere. He cleared off Everton's line, played a key role in the first goal and popped up to score the third goal himself with a cute finish after a 70 yard run. He showed great composure, bordering on cockiness, at times. But another thing that struck me was how he responded to being brought down by Raheem Sterling, giving Sterling a shove and a piece of his mind.  He certainly wasn't phased or in awe of the established names around him in either team, as he showed when leaving Yaya Toure for dead in the move which led up to his goal. And he set up Seamus Coleman for Everton's winner at Palace with an incisive pass.

If you watch Davies's movement off the ball, whichever team is in possession, it's noticeable that he always seems to be on his toes, ready to move forward. He bounces around the pitch, gliding across the surface, never seemingly flat-footed or on his heels. Who does he remind me of?

Well, his performance against City was much more than a box to box midfielder. Good as they were, Peter Reid, Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall made their major contributions between, not in, the penalty areas.

Clearing off his own line, playing key passes, popping up in the opposition box to score? Covering 'every blade of grass' as they used to say before marathon running players became the norm? Colossal self belief at a very young age? We've not had anyone quite like that since one of my all-time heroes, Alan Ball....

Of course, by the time Ball joined Everton, aged 21, he had a World Cup winner's medal after his man of the match performance in the 1966 final. But Ball was so precocious that,  before he became Blackpool's youngest ever first team player, he rowed with Sir Stanley Matthews in a reserve game. Matthews, who liked the ball to his feet, hadn't anticipated - or didn't want to run for - Ball's pass inside the full back and the youngster gave the 'Wizard of Dribble' a bollocking. I don't have Ball's autobiography to hand but, as Matthews moved to Stoke City in 1961, Ball could only have been 16.

So wary am I of being made to look foolish by this comparison, based on so few games for Davies and, only having seen him on tv so far, I really should file this draft post without publishing it. The game has changed and hopefully Davies will go on to be an outstanding player in his own right; as they say 'the first Tom Davies'. But just in case Davies does go on to have a stellar career.......here goes.