Everton have made a decent start to life in the Premier League at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with various stars shining under David Moyes – but Roy Keane has told one player that he is cutting a frustrated figure by watching him underperform.
Everton currently sit on 15 points after 11 games, a points-per-game tally of 1.36 – which would see them finish on 52 points come the end of the Premier League campaign.
That would be the best return since the 2020-21 campaign, showing that David Moyes is doing a stellar job at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in his first full season as Toffees boss since 2012-13.
And the fact that he’s doing it without regular goals up front is even more impressive – but it’s led Premier League legend Roy Keane to criticise Thierno Barry after leaving him ‘frustrated’ following recent antics in the division.
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Roy Keane vents at Everton striker Thierno Barry
Speaking on The Overlap’s ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, special guest Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was giving a masterclass in terms of striker work.
And, when Keane stated that strikers not being overly alert to potential chances was one of his gripes, Barry was used as an example as a result of his miss against Sunderland last Monday.
Keane said: “You know what frustrates me a bit, is when you’re watching games at the weekend. There’s a striker in a position, and they go ‘oh, he wasn’t expecting it’.
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“He thought the defender was going to get there. Always be ready for if someone slips or misses it! Instead of ‘Oh, I thought he was going to clear it’.”
And, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suggested Thierno Barry’s miss against Sunderland, Keane added: “Yeah. He’s got to get over that, of course”.
Barry being urged to perform by two Premier League legends won’t change the outcome of that miss, but it could spur him on to anticipate better in the future.
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Thierno Barry may enjoy short-lived Everton career amid Ivan Toney links
Earlier this week, Everton were linked with a move for Al-Ahli striker and England international Ivan Toney to fix their striking woes.
Between them, Thierno Barry and Beto have just one Premier League goal this season, with the latter scoring against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of August – meaning it’s been over two months since an Everton striker has scored in the Premier League.
Iliman Ndiaye has stepped up to the plate with four goals in the Premier League, including his solo goal against Sunderland.
But continued striking woes have seen Toney linked. It’s not yet known if the striker will opt for a move to Merseyside, but the fact that Everton are looking could mean the writing is on the wall for Barry.
With Beto having scored their only goal this season, it’s also seen Joshua Zirkzee linked with Everton.
Barry may be given time considering he’s only just turned 23, but he’ll need to start scoring goals soon.