IT is a safe bet that somebody will describe today’s clash between Tottenham and Everton as the “Barcelona derby” or, at least, one of many auditions for the Camp Nou job, which Luis Enrique says he will be vacating in the summer.

It is also a sign of the times that whether Ronald Koeman or Mauricio Pochettino might be in the running for the Barca gig seems to trump what they are doing this season, at least in term of storyline. The former picked up a side that finished in the bottom half the past two seasons and has them back to seventh, while pushing a talented core of young talent that include Ross Barkley, Tom Davies and Romelu Lukaku. The latter has an even more exciting nucleus led by Dele Alli and Harry Kane and - in normal circumstances - might have won the Premier League last season. His club are moving to a new ground in a little over a year's time and have big plans.

Yet, for both, it’s apparently more interesting to wonder whether Catalunya is on the horizon.

Koeman’s candidacy seems to be little more than a media creation, perhaps with some help from his entourage, since it is always nice (and useful) to feel wanted. True, he spent six years at the club and won plenty in Johan Cruyff’s heyday. But that seems like a flimsy connection or, at least, one that’s outweighed by the rest of his CV. Which, to be fair, includes highs (league titles at PSV and Ajax) as well as lows (contriving to finish third with Benfica, nearly getting relegated with Valencia, an early sacking at AZ Alkmaar). He did well at Southampton in a “best-of-the-rest” sort of way, but there is a big difference between getting the most out of a group of average-to-good players and meeting the sort of expectations Barcelona inflict on their managers.

As for Pochettino, things turned comical when, on Friday, he had to clear up a throwaway comment he made two months earlier. On that occasion, asked about Barcelona, he had said he was quoted as saying: “I was born with a bull in my arm.”

This was a head-scratcher. Some interpreted it as Pochettino wanting to remain loyal to Espanyol - Barca’s city rivals whom he had played for and coached - though on what basis remains unclear as bulls have no specific significance to Espanyol. Others drew a broader inference suggesting that he would wish to return to Spain since, this is the country of bull-fighting.

Pochettino explained on Friday that he didn’t say “bull” but “ball”. And that, in his mind, being born “with a ball in his arm” meant he understood how football works and that anything is possible.

Either way, we are bordering on farce here. For what it’s worth, Pochettino seems a more viable candidate than Koeman, albeit one stuck in a long-term deal with no release clause and a club known for their ability to extract maximum compensation when they let someone go.

Athletic Bilbao’s Ernesto Valverde - the low-key candidate - and Sevilla’s Jorge Sampaoli - the more exciting option - appear better bets right now.

Still, these are all men born “with a ball in their arms”. And it's grotesque that this dominated the build-up to what should be the Premier League’s show-piece clash.

AN exchange in the Daily Mail between Jamie Redknapp and Ross Barkley neatly encapsulated the current state of play if you are a bright, young thing in the Premier League. Redknapp, wearing his supportive hat, said: “If I was your manager, I would build my team around you. Why do people look at what you can’t do, rather than what you can do?”

To which Barkley responded: “We do that in England, don’t we? Look at John Stones, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli. Put them in the Barcelona side and they would look unbelievable. Technically, they are outstanding… As an Englishman, we should believe in that. John Stones is… as good a ball-playing centre-half as you could wish to see.”

Where to begin?

If Redknapp were Barkley’s manager, he would build his team around him? Isn’t that what Barkley’s real life manager, Koeman, has done? Only two Everton players have started more games than Barkley this season. Last year, he appeared in every game. He sits behind the centre-forward and has licence to do pretty much what he pleases. It’s not as if he has a hidden talent which only Redknapp can see.

Barkley’s response is extraordinary for its lack of self-awareness. Sure, it is churlish to mock youngsters if they say silly things. But Barkley is 23, he has represented his country at every level and is in his fourth season as a regular. You expect some level of maturity in his answer.

Stones, Kane, Sterling, Alli… all fine players. But would they look “unbelievable” (his words, not mine) if they were in the same side as Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta?

Indeed, would any of them - bar, perhaps, Alli - get in the Barca side? Is Kane going to supplant Luis Suarez? Is Sterling’s “outstanding” technique going to get him a game ahead of Neymar?

Why even make this absurd comparison at this stage of their career? And is believing something that is patently untrue - take Stones who isn’t exactly pulling up trees at Manchester City - really what the English football public ought to be doing?

Indeed, other than Stones (who was kept out of the England side by - ahem - Gary Cahill and Chris Smalling) the other three all started against Iceland at Euro 2016… how did that work out?

It’s one thing to nurture and believe in young talent. Positivity isn’t only desirable, it’s necessary. And the English media does have a self-flagellating bent when it comes to tearing down young icons.

But there is also such a thing as self-delusion. And creating insanely unrealistic expectations. We went through this a dozen years ago with he likes of Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand, who, as a group, arguably achieved more at a young age than this lot have done.

Why does it seem clever to go through it all again?