Everton star Thierno Barry has opened up about his struggles at Everton after a slow start to life in the Premier League – but he can take solace in the fact that a previous Goodison Park striking icon suffered a similarly tough few months upon his move.
Thierno Barry impressed in La Liga last season, and that saw him complete a move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with the Frenchman signing for Everton with a lot of promise under his belt.
However, Barry has opened up about his struggles at the club so far. No Premier League goals so far this season have seen Idrissa Gueye and Seamus Coleman mentor the striker, and fans will hope that it’s only a matter of time before he starts scoring regularly.
But with fellow French star Louis Saha suffering a similar fate in his time at Goodison Park, Barry can take solace in that fact – and he could become an Everton icon just like his compatriot.
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Louis Saha had a barren spell before becoming Everton fan favourite
Everton fans will have been buzzing when Louis Saha signed for the club, given he scored 42 goals in just 124 appearances for Manchester United, of which just 76 were starts.
His move came with intrigue, handing Everton a strike force of Saha, Tim Cahill, Marouane Fellaini and Yakubu heading into the new campaign – but the Frenchman endured a tough start.
It took Saha seven games to finally score, netting in a 1-0 home win over Fulham, before a late brace against West Ham a week later saw him go bang in form.
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However, knee problems and another lack of form only saw Saha score three goals for the rest of the campaign, meaning it was a lacklustre campaign on his behalf.
Saha, however, turned into a real threat the season after. His outstanding start to the season saw him notch ten goals by Christmas, and although those goals dried up in the second half of the campaign, Everton lost just twice after Christmas to mark themselves as the best of the rest.
Fans will be hoping that Barry can do the same under David Moyes this time around, and really take a forward step into making himself Everton’s first-choice striker.
Thierno Barry can take lessons off Louis Saha’s initial failures
Players do need time to settle into a new club – and in Saha’s case, he’d already had nine seasons of Premier League football, as well as an outstanding campaign in the second-tier for Fulham.
Although Saha’s Everton career was plagued with injuries, whereby he left after three-and-a-half years, he still managed 35 goals in 115 games for the club, including a previous record for the quickest goal in FA Cup final history inside just 25 seconds.
Barry’s rapid rise means that he’s played for five different clubs in five years, in five different countries.
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Featuring for Sochaux’s B Team in 2021-22, he moved onto Belgian outfit Beveren, where strong form landed a move to Swiss side Basel. 14 goals in 38 games meant he joined Villarreal, and another season with double figures in la Liga drew a dream move to the Premier League.
He’s hit double figures in each of those previous four campaigns, and there is no doubting that once he finds his feet, Barry will start firing in the Premier League.
It may take time, but the youngster will come good if given the opportunities.