Everton striker Thierno Barry reveals he has been spending hours watching Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike | OneFootball

Everton spent £27 million to sign France youth international Thierno Barry from Villarreal, but he has yet to justify their outlay.

The 23-year-old has bagged no goals or assists in 13 appearances for Everton and has yet to register a shot on target in over six hours of Premier League football.

Barry is concerned about his form for the Toffees and has been trying to learn from Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike and Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade.

“We arrived at the same time and I like to see how they are adapting, the runs they are making,” the Everton forward told The Athletic.

“I’ve played with some great forwards – Dieumerci Mbokani at Beveren, Albian Ajeti at Basel and Gerard Moreno and Ayoze Perez at Villarreal.

“I was the youngest of the three at Villarreal, but I played the most minutes.

“People say I’m in competition now with Beto, but I don’t see it like that. I’m in competition with myself, and if I prevail personally then I always have confidence I could do the job.

“That’s why I got a tattoo during my time at Basel – ‘me against me’. Whenever I have a difficult moment now, I look at that.”

Barry knows he has what it takes to succeed in the English top-flight despite his underwhelming start at Everton.

Apart from learning by watching Ekitike and Woltemade, the Everton striker has also been spending more time in the gym and practising his finishing with the coaches after training sessions.

Barry scored 19 times and assisted four goals last season across 41 appearances in the Swiss Super League with Basel and in the Spanish top-flight.

He will fancy his chances of finally coming good with the Toffees.