Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas on the Blues' search for a goalscorer and how the two strikers at the club can make David Moyes' January far easier
Troy Parrott celebrates scoring his dramatic winner for Republic of Ireland against Hungary. The hero has since been linked with Everton
Troy Parrott celebrates scoring his dramatic winner for Republic of Ireland against Hungary. The hero has since been linked with Everton
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Troy Parrott’s heroics for the Republic of Ireland have led to a surge in speculation about his future. Predictability, Everton’s name has come up.
The former Tottenham Hotspur forward’s goals have given Seamus Coleman and Jake O’Brien a genuine chance of joining Jordan Pickford and others from Finch Farm in the USA for the World Cup next summer. Parrott's form - he has also been doing well for AZ Alkmaar - combined with Everton’s struggles in front of goal make for a heady mix for the rumour mill.
The 23-year-old is just the latest name to be mentioned in the same gasp as the Blues over recent weeks, with Al-Ahli’s Premier League-proven Ivan Toney and Midtjylland’s in-form Franculino Dju also having been linked.
With January looming, the gossip will continue for as long as Everton’s strikers find it difficult to find the back of the net. That should be a powerful message to the incumbents Beto and Thierno Barry over the coming weeks that their status within David Moyes’ plans is largely within their own control.
Put simply, if one or both hit form then the rumours will go away, for January at least, with next summer representing a much better time to explore options up top.
That is because Moyes and Everton would prefer not to have to dip into the market for a striker in January.
There is a willingness to consider business in the new year. The overhaul of the summer was complex and always likely to leave room for improvement and there are some areas of the squad where it is clear the Blues are short of options. But that openness to explore who is available is caveated by the desire to find value for money.
That is a tough ask in a notoriously difficult window and no more so than if the search is for a striker.
Moyes has been at pains to make that clear for some time. He knows from experience that bringing in a goalscorer is far from easy, even when you have a decent budget available. Reflecting on such efforts recently, he explained: “It is difficult to buy strikers... we try to get what we think we can. Strikers, honestly, for years at West Ham I could not find one. We got one every year, Gianluca [Scamacca] found it really tough and he was Italy’s No 9.”
That Everton need one of their forwards to find form is clear. This has been a good start to a landmark season but it could easily have been so much better. Beto has just one Premier League goal to date and has missed significant chances against Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City - all games Everton failed to win.
Barry is yet to register a shot on target since his arrival in the summer and Moyes was unable to hide his belief the 23-year-old’s close- range miss with Everton leading 1-0 at Sunderland was the turning point in a match they ended up doing well to salvage a draw from.
Not only would a few of those efforts going in have led to more points, they would also have prevented the pressure from building on the Blues n the build-up to Fulham as those beneath them in the table picked up points.
That frustration is a blessing and a curse. This was always going to be a rollercoaster season of immense transition for Everton and perhaps there is a positive in it being so obvious to everyone where the biggest room for gains is.
Moyes continues to consider Iliman Ndiaye as having the potential to play up top but is not convinced it is a role that will bring out the best of a key player having an encouraging season on the wing. It is a move, in short, he hopes Barry and/or Beto do not force him into taking.
Moyes looked at the striker market when he was appointed in January last year - something he had to do as he quickly lost Dominic Calvert-Lewinn, Armando Broja and Youssef Chermiti to injury. In the end, Beto shone when given the exposure he had been craving and ended Moyes’ misgivings with a valuable run of goals that pushed Everton to safety by March.
His manager is a major fan of the Guinea-Bissau international’s attitude and desire to improve and the hope has been that his form earlier in the year is something that can be replicated.
Those hopes were part of the backdrop against which the club parted ways with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose struggle for sustained fitness led to the belief a new deal would not represent value for money as the parties talked in the final weeks of his contract.
There was still a desire to find competition for Beto, though the right wing was the club’s priority in the summer. It was hoped Liam Delap would be the perfect fit and his £30m relegation release clause at Ipswich Town brought him within Everton’s reach.
Delap took the Blues interest seriously and there is a genuine belief at the club that they came close to tempting him to Merseyside before he ultimately opted for Chelsea.
In the aftermath, Barry emerged as a player Everton liked - and he arrived from Villarreal with an understanding he would likely need time to settle.
While his £27m price tag brought with it a degree of expectation, Moyes was quick to try and dampen them with the feeling he represented a promising investment but one that might take a while to settle into the Premier League.
The reality is there are few easy wins on the striker front - the best attract huge sums and given Everton’s position, convincing proven names to be part of The Friedkin Group overhaul was complicated, the club had money to spend for the first time in years but had a reputation scarred by recent struggles on and off the pitch.
For the Blues to close the gap on the teams they wish to chase down, they must be smart in how it invests TFG’s cash.
For sustained progress in a world of financial regulations the most effective route to success is to buy talent that can either be sold for the profit that then supports further progress, or to bring in players who grow with the club’s ambitions. The hope is Barry can do that and Moyes was given a real glimpse of his potential in the opening 25 minutes at the Stadium of Light and then in his impressive performance - his best in Royal Blue - in the win over Fulham.
Moyes thought the same, saying after the game: “I thought Thierno had his best game for us. We need him to keep stepping up all the time, we need him to up his ante all the time.
“There's a great history of number nines at Everton Football Club and it's not an easy thing to follow when you go back through time. Let's hope maybe we can give him a little bit of respite.
“He'll get more confidence from his performance, he'll get great confidence from the support he had from the crowd. It was a great, great way to see him because everybody knows we want him to do well. And he performed well, he really did.”
It was a timely breakthrough for Barry and the hope at Everton now is that he can build on that performance on the other side of the international break.
If he can then he will silence the gossip merchants and make January far more straightforward for Moyes.
His strikers have to see the next few weeks as an opportunity - and they must be ready to take it if they want to stave off further competition.