Everton are still waiting on Thierno Barry to find his shooting boots on Merseyside, but they may have avoided a disastrous transfer with another striker target over the summer.
It has been the same old story for Everton fans this season with goals coming at a premium on Merseyside.
David Moyes saw his side fire a blank in front of goal once again on Sunday in their defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite spending in the region of £27m on Barry, it has been Beto who has earned the majority of the minutes for the Toffees.
Tim Sherwood has criticised both Barry and Beto on the back of their latest loss at the weekend against the Lilywhites.
However, there is one Everton summer target who has endured a real disaster of a transfer since joining his new team.
AS Roma Training Session
Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images
Everton avoid Evan Ferguson disaster at AS Roma
During the summer, Everton considered signing Evan Ferguson from Brighton & Hove Albion, but he joined The Friddkin Group’s AS Roma instead.
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Since making the loan move to the Serie A outfit, Ferguson has endured a disaster of a move to the Italian capital.
Ferguson made an electric start to Roma’s pre-season, but the Ireland international has failed to impress when the competitive action began.
During his opening nine appearances across Serie A and the Europa League, Ferguson has not returned a single goal.
Evan Ferguson 25/26 Total
Appearances 9
Minutes 413
Goals 0
Assists 1
Everton News understands that Everton were open to signing two strikers during the summer window after landing Barry.
Roma hold a £40m purchase clause in Ferguson’s contract which is currently looking very unlikely to be triggered.
Everton remain confident Thierno Barry will succeed
There is no doubting that it has been a tricky start to the season for Everton’s summer signing, Barry.
Everton chiefs remain confident Barry will prove a success at the Hill Dickinson Stadium over the coming months.
With Beto struggling so much to find the back of the net, it may now be time for the 23-year-old Frenchman to get a run in the starting XI.
Moyes now has just under a week to consider his team selection ahead of the trip to the Stadium of Light on Monday.
Given Everton were keen to sign two strikers over the summer, avoiding the signing of Ferguson on top of Barry will now be of huge relief to those at Finch Farm.
According to Corriere dello Sport, Roma are growing concerned about Ferguson’s displays with a replacement expected in January.
It has not been a fairytale start for Barry, but it appears Ferguson is living a nightmare over in Rome.