Everton return to Premier League action on Saturday as they take on fierce Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
David Moyes’ side have made a good start to the new Premier League season as they sit in sixth place following their draw to Aston Villa.
Everton look like they could genuinely challenge for Europe, however, there is an area that could potentially hold them back.
To address that, ahead of this weekend’s Merseyside Derby, Moyes must make this big decision.
Thierno Barry in action for Everton.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
David Moyes has to start and stick with Thierno Barry
So far this season, Moyes has chopped and changed his strikers, rotating between Beto and the new £27m summer signing Thierno Barry.
Beto got the nod against Aston Villa on Saturday but failed to take his opportunity, and Moyes admitted post-match that he was selected due to his goal in the previous game against Wolves.
“Just the goals. I might just chop and change for no particular reason,” the Scotsman said.
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That simply has to change, as the starting number nine needs to build up an understanding with his teammates and find a rhythm.
Given Barry was the big money arrival and clearly has a lot of potential, he should start against Liverpool and retain his place for at least five or six games to get a proper run in the side.
David Moyes has already said he will give Thierno Barry time
When Everton signed Barry, Moyes was very clear that he will be patient with Barry and give him time to settle in.
“We are delighted to have brought Thierno to the Club,” the 62-year-old explained. “We see lots of potential and we are hoping for good things from him.
“We will give him plenty of time to settle in and we are looking forward to getting started working with him as soon as possible.”
That would certainly be the ideal scenario for the Toffees, but at the moment, they don’t really have the luxury of slowly bedding Barry in.
Moyes needs to pick his striker and stick with him, otherwise, there is far too much change and it’s harder to form relationships on the pitch.
Around the Premier League, pretty much every team has a settled number nine that everybody knows will start.