The 19-year-old is one of the most exciting youngsters I've seen in some time and if he hadn't broken his leg a few years ago he'd probably be a regular for England already.
He got his first cap on Friday night against Moldova and, since scoring a fantastic goal on the opening day of the season against Norwich, all eyes have been on him.
But he will face a tough test against a very strong Chelsea side this weekend.
There's no question playing against big sides affects you as a youngster and with the game live on Sky Sports - it's our featured match on Saturday Night Football - there will be added nerves because of that as well.
However, Barkley isn't up against Claude Makelele on Saturday, who was in Jose Mourinho's ranks when he first took a Chelsea side to Goodison Park in February 2005.
The French midfielder won every 50-50, knew where the ball was going to drop and was a great defensive player. Ramires, who is playing in that role now, has a bit more athleticism, but can't see things and stop things quite like Makelele did, so Barkley will have some room to operate.
It's important, though, that whoever plays just behind Barkley, whether that's Gareth Barry or James McCarthy, plays the ball into their number 10 as quickly as possible.
Against a side like Chelsea, a split second can make the difference between Barkley being marked and having space to do his bits and pieces.