Can Thierno Barry recover from his slow start at Everton? | OneFootball

It seemed like Everton had a largely productive summer. In addition to signing Barry, the club kept Beto despite rumours suggesting he was on the move. However, the latter, who scored eight Premier League goals last season, has been appalling in front of goal.

According to Opta, Beto has a goals vs xG metric of –2.89, which is one of the worst in the top flight. He has landed four shots on target in 14 league appearances and has a conversion rate of 7.14%. It is no wonder David Moyes has benched the 27-year-old for five consecutive matches.

Thierno Barry is the player benefiting from Beto’s misfortunes, but he, too, is struggling to prove himself as a goalscorer. The ex-Villarreal star is goalless in 16 appearances across all competitions, 9 of which have been starts.

This has led to questions over whether Everton need to look for another striker in January, either to play alongside Barry or to replace him in the starting lineup. However, perhaps the Frenchman just needs more time to find his way at the club.

After all, Barry is not alone in getting off to a stuttering start at Everton. History has shown that several slow-starting Everton forwards went on to be a success later down the line.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is one example. His goal tally remained fairly modest over his first few years at Goodison Park, before hitting 29 league goals across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

The man who joined Leeds United last summer experienced two particularly strong campaigns, so much so that he received England recognition. His final few injury-impacted seasons at Everton might not have been as impressive, but it was certainly worth keeping him around for how he played between 2019 and 2021.

Of course, there are others who were given the same chances, but never made anything of themselves in the Premier League. Brett Angell is one example, scoring only one top-flight goal in 20 appearances during the ‘90s. Some have even drawn comparisons between the struggles of Angell and Barry.

There are more recent examples who come from more similar backgrounds to Barry. Sandro Ramirez also arrived from La Liga, back in 2017, and he had just completed a 14-goal season at Malaga. The Spaniard only scored once before he was shown the door, after the kind of disastrous spell Barry will be keen to avoid.

Ramirez is not the only forward to have arrived from abroad and failed to make an impression on their respective managers. From Oumar Niasse to Cenk Tosun and Moise Kean, there’s hardly been a shortage. Each of those players had strong records in other leagues but were simply unable to hack the Premier League.

Which type of striker will Barry become? Will his struggles continue? Or can he change his fortunes and follow in the footsteps of players like Calvert-Lewin?

Barry is at least offering contributions outside of scoring goals. He is a hard worker who holds up the ball, presses the opposition defence, and wins his fair share of headers.

However, a striker has to be scoring goals. He’s twice seen goals disallowed this season, so perhaps this could provide some hope. Then again, he has only landed one shot on target all season in the Premier League, despite taking 14 shots from inside the box.

That record is nowhere near good enough and it shows that there is a bigger problem than Everton’s style of play. Barry has had to adapt because, with Everton’s more conservative approach – in a league where almost all opponents have a genuine threat – a contrast to a Villarreal team who often played on the frontfoot last season.

Everton have already faced the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, teams who have spent hundreds of millions of pounds. Life is not about to get any easier, with fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal rapidly approaching.

Barry’s likely to receive fewer chances in that upcoming schedule, while his inability to test opposition goalkeepers with those that do arrive is a big concern. There have been precious few signs from Barry that he has the ability to become the main attacking outlet at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Perhaps a boost in confidence would aid the 23-year-old in his search for goals. It is at least good to see the match-going supporters are still giving him their backing and this is vital if he is ever to live up to the £27M transfer fee.

But right now, it is hard to see Barry going from where he is now to regularly finding the net. If he proves his doubters wrong, excellent, but the club should definitely be considering attacking transfer targets ahead of the January transfer window.

Barry deserves some patience, at least until the end of the season, and to be given some opportunities. However, relying on him and Beto for the remainder of the campaign seems like a high-risk gamble with the prospect of a low reward.

Reader Comments (25)

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The striker dilemma rolls on, and without a huge (psr agreeable) budget what can be done?

It seems our manager has made Barry his first choice now, and there are a few signs, the guy is toughing up a bit, adjusting to a challenging league, and the bottom line is he and Beto are all we have.

Right back is an absolute priority, and for me is the first position to address, James Garner has proven to be a capable deputy for that position,, albeit he is most effective in the middle.

This freed up Jake O'Brien to go to his natural position against Bournemouth -- and wow that worked so well.

So, back on topic, are we likely to have enough funds to buy a deicated right-back and a Premier League proven Number 9, I'm not sure we do, so the Barry and Beto rotation scenario looks set to continue with goal contributions from the ranks.

Confidence is massive, even for well-proven players, so we have to get behind our guys and help raise their game. We are slowly getting better, and Moyes may not be the long-term manager we need, but who would have done a better job, in a short time, with limited funds?

Right-back next, please, Everton. If we settle the back line first, the improvement through the midfield will eventually help to create more going into the final third, that's my humble opinion anyway...

Andrew Clare 3 Posted 05/12/2025 at 14:38:26

He is getting better with each passing game. His confidence has improved and with it his involvement has benefited.

I am sure that, if Moyes perseveres with him, he will start scoring.

Martin Farrington 4 Posted 05/12/2025 at 14:41:29

If we sre unable to buy an effective RB and goal scoring Forward in jan. our priority HAS to be a striker. We have cover at RB.

We have no one who can score. (We haven't had for years.) The stupidity of gambling on signing potential (duffers) must cease.

We need to move on. We can't without a goalscorer. Barry isn't one. Beto should be jettisoned upon the purchase of a goalscorer. Get rid of at least one of the three keepers and bring in a decent loaner. Not any of the abject no marks that the previous DoF saddled us with.

Then Barry can be Moysetised under no pressure

Mike Powell 5 Posted 05/12/2025 at 14:44:36

Beto and Barry are both awful. Barry might've improved a little bit, but is still awful.

We have to get a striker in January. If we had a half-decent striker, then we could be in the Top 6, but if we carry on with these two, then mid-table at best.

There are only two teams that have scored less than us, that's scandalous!

Jonathan Oppenheimer 6 Posted 05/12/2025 at 15:10:57

Our problem is that we keep buying £20-25 million forwards (Walcott, Tosun, Beto, Barry) that don't pan out instead of a single £50-60 million one. And we keep buying the wrong £20-25 million forwards. But of course easier said than done to find the best Toney, Watkins, Delap, etc.

Speaking of Delap, if he was smart he would've come to us for 2-3 years instead of getting the odd match down at Chelsea.

Of course I don't know what I'm talking about anyway. I stuck by DCL until the very end, and even now think he'd still be our best option — if only his wage demands weren't ridiculous. And I thought Broja would come good if he, too, could only get healthy.

My general point stands, though, that it's easy to say, Buy a striker!! You have to find the right one, which clearly we're not capable of doing. I think Barry will get much better — he already has — but I struggle to see him ever banging in 15 goals/season.

Christy Ring 7 Posted 05/12/2025 at 15:20:27

He was desperately unlucky against Bournemouth, did everything right trying to chip the keeper, but clipped his shoulder and just cleared the crossbar. He just needs even a Grealish type goal.

You mentioned Calvert-Lewin scored in the last two games against Man City and Chelsea. I personally thought we made a mistake in the summer, just my opinion, but would definitely have excelled with Grealish and Ndiaye's service.

Dave Abrahams 8 Posted 05/12/2025 at 16:16:04

I backed Dominic all the way until last season when I thought he was giving less than he had previously done.

If he can stay fit, he could prove to be a good signing for Leeds who got him without a transfer fee. Dominic is now a problem or success for Leeds Utd. I wish him well -- just not against us.

Barry is definitely improving, on the up. Granted that is from a hole 6 feet deep, but at least there is a positive direction of travel. I've said previously, he needs a goal, any goal, even off his arse and I think that will settle him down a lot. I believe the second will come much quicker.

In any case, as other posters point out, we don't really have much choice. We have to prioritise, and the full-back options are dragging us down and reducing the impact either of our wide forwards can make.

It is almost embarrassing to watch Mykolenko try and attack. I'm not sure our opponents even mark him very closely because they know he is minimal threat. I find it astonishing that our solution over the summer was to buy a left-back we might even end up loaning out because he isn't ready to play.

Right-back, as we know, is an even bigger hole. Who on earth thought Patterson and Coleman were serious options in that position? Madness bordering on reckless decision-making.

Dave Abrahams 10 Posted 05/12/2025 at 17:03:27

Forgot to mention in above post that I'd stick with Barry he's just getting started with the Blues.

I think it is a bit early to give him the elbow — there has been a definite improvement since his first few games when he was just getting a few minutes here and there.

He's played his part in the three wins out of the last four games, working hard, on his own, upfront.

Jay Harris 11 Posted 05/12/2025 at 17:20:27

Barry would make big Victor look like Eusebio.

For me he is too slow in thought, as clumsy as Beto and for a big lad, he doesn't assert any physicality. As for heading, he certainly gets on the end of balls but has no direction or purpose.

Beto is more likely to score and that's a poor indication of Barry's suitability for the Premier League.

I hate to be so negative about a young lad but I just think, the longer we persist, we will end up totally destroying his confidence.

Every footballer has a level and his is not Premier League.

Ian Jones 13 Posted 05/12/2025 at 19:27:45

Barry, as has been pointed out, probably just needs any type of goal. If were 2 or 3 up with a minute to go, I'd let him have a penalty if we got one.

Also, some people have said Graeme Sharp took time to settle in after a difficult start and he turned out okay.

Nicolas Piñon 14 Posted 05/12/2025 at 20:14:14

Beto and Barry are not good enough for Everton, and Calvert-Lewin was not a success here IMO. Two good seasons in 8 years is far from a success.

He'd start at Everton cause B&B are crap, but that's it.

Jonathan Oppenheimer 15 Posted 05/12/2025 at 20:22:45

I think the problem with Barry (and Beto for that matter) is the eye test. I said the same thing when I first saw Mykolenko and was told to have patience.

It's true that it takes people a while to settle into a new league and country a lot of times, but also if you've seen enough football you can tell when a player just looks a little too clumsy to be a top player.

Mykolenko has proven me right: he's a good defender, but will never do anything special offensively. Barry, I fear, like Beto, will never have the composure or balance or calmness or creative spark needed to be the answer up top.

Jonathan Oppenheimer 16 Posted 05/12/2025 at 20:50:31

Nicolas 14, quite harsh on Calvert-Lewin. By the time he got going and those two successful seasons 2019-2021, he was in top form as a 23-year-old who I believe was not a forward in his teenage years.

After that, a combination of injuries and playing on crap teams with a constant churn of managers and relegation fights — but especially the injuries and being brought back too soon — kept him from standing out.

He was not perfect, but a healthy Calvert-Lewin in this current squad would mean about 5-7 goals already this season for us.

Paul Griffiths 17 Posted 05/12/2025 at 21:30:56

Samuel Johnson? Who's he? Is he the fella that did that dictionary? There was another new fella on here the other day who popped up from nowhere.

I do not see the point of this article. We've been through all of this before. There's nothing new in it, apart from the revealing Barry - Angell comparison.

Mike Gaynes 18 Posted 05/12/2025 at 21:56:39

Jay #11, he's not a big lad. He's a tall, skinny one, Crouch-esque. He's listed at 180 pounds and I doubt it.

Having glimpsed him in Serie A, I was impressed but figured it would take him a full season to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League.

I still think so.

Mark Murphy 19 Posted 05/12/2025 at 22:01:04

Mike - I see a player in there too.

Get that monkey off his back and I'll back him for 10 goals.

Still shoulda kept Calvert-Lewin though.

Andy Meighan 20 Posted 06/12/2025 at 09:01:28

Let's be honest he doesn't even look like a footballer.

No discernible pace, no actual strength on the ball, no shooting or heading ability, and not one bit of finesse about him whatsoever.

We're talking about a lad here who, in 9 Premier League starts and a few cameos off the bench, hasn't even had a shot on target! Imagine rocking up at a job and you can't even do the basics; we all know what would happen, don't we.

No but this is the benevolent home for the poor and the average, isn't it? Look, I'll put it in layman's terms: he's fuckin' garbage.

Jay @11, good post:

For me, he is too slow in thought, as clumsy as Beto, and for a big lad, he doesn't assert any physicality. As for heading, he certainly gets on the end of balls but has no direction or purpose.

I completely agree with that analysis. Countless times he has been in a contest for the ball with an opposition centre-back or defender and he just has no idea how to use his body weight or strength to position himself or shield the ball. He never wins... he never even looks like winning.

Perhaps it's something that comes with a couple of years in the Premier League; perhaps he would have it figured out if he had spent a season on loan with an EFL team. Perhaps he's just not "Premier League ready"!

Tony Abrahams 22 Posted 06/12/2025 at 10:30:01

I’ve been hoping that someone is going to open the BA car park next to the football pitches where The Britt, used to play and give Barry the attendant’s job, Andy! (Good jest, or bad jest, it’ really is frightening trying to make jokes these days!)

Hopefully he’s going to come good, but the lack of vision in not opening this facility which would probably be able to house quite a few cars, to help the match going fans, who are struggling to get anywhere near the new stadium, isn’t befitting of an area where the people are usually up very early!

On a more serious note, I think what Mike, has written about his opinion that it was definitely going to take Barry, a certain length of time to adjust to the EPL, makes a lot of sense, and something that definitely makes me question the recruitment policy adapted by whichever group or person, who was in overall charge this summer.

24 Posted 06/12/2025 at 11:49:53

Ian 13.

Yes Sharp did take time to bed in but that was then and this is now, but this Premier league is a completely different animal.

The majority of cb's now are more cultured in their style of play, quicker, read the game better wheras back then they were more stoppers bar the odd few, think Ratcliffe.

I hope and I mean sincerely hope the lad comes good, but what I've watched of him he doesn't look like he's going to.

Moyes and his staff very obviously know a lot more than me, but to keep playing him in my view is cruel.

He's got nothing at all to his game, and we can't even say he's been unlucky because he hasn't, well maybe against Fulham but bar that, zilch.

Cue him getting a brace today and making me look a mug, which wouldn't be a first.