EVERTON youngster Jack Rodwell is looking to give Stuart Pearce a selection headache ahead of the European Under-21 Championship semi-finals after giving a glimpse of why he is so highly rated.

Rodwell scored against Germany when Pearce rested his first-choice players and the 18-year-old looked so at ease in his defensive-midfield role that he pushed himself for a starting place on Friday for the last-four clash in Gothenburg with hosts Sweden.

“You just have to take your chance when you get it and hopefully I did that and I’m in the manager’s thoughts,” Rodwell said. “There is always more to come, you can always improve. We’re all working together and know it’s a squad game.

“We’re definitely confident going into the semis, we go in to play our own game and hopefully we’ll get through it.”

Rodwell is actually tipped to eventually play at centre-back and has been compared to Rio Ferdinand, with top Premier League managers aware of the talent David Moyes has on his hands at Goodison Park.

Moyes gave Rodwell 25 appearances last season. Nine of them came starting Premier League matches, with the Everton manager planning to give his youngster more exposure next term.

“He has only just turned 18 and it’s going to take experience and time,” said Moyes. “But undoubtedly he has a good future ahead of him. You can see he has ability and we’re keen to push him on.

“Next season, instead of playing five, six or eight games, it might be up to 18 or 20, depending on how his progress is.

“But you can see already that Jack has got great pace and athleticism.”