Thierno Barry is about to enter his second season at Everton, and it's a chance for him to show the Premier League what he's about.
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Everton striker Thierno Barry is someone who caused a lot of division among the fanbase last year.
Barry signed from Villarreal during the previous summer transfer window, and many expected him to be Everton’s number nine for many years to come. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen as seamlessly as that.
Players need time to settle in, adapt to new surroundings, get used to the rigours of Premier League football. Barry was no different. He’s a young man with a young family, having to move to a completely new country and adapt to a style of football which is completely different.
It would be difficult for any young man to move his family to a new country where you don’t know many people, never mind someone who is then under immense pressure to perform in front of thousands of people every week.
This is a huge season approaching for Barry. He has to prove people wrong and show that he’s capable of being the answer at Everton.
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Barry’s 25/26 season
To sum up Barry’s season, the word I’d use is inconsistent. During spells, it looked as though he could be a consistent goalscorer, but those spells didn’t come often enough. His overall play was also disappointing at times, but this was to be expected coming up against Premier League defenders for the first time.
Back in November, Barry dislocated his shoulder, and this is something that didn’t create a lot of media attention, when perhaps it should have. The club didn’t appear to address it, nor did he get any time off from playing.
“When I was towards the side of the pitch, I touched the ball, and when I touched it, my arm went up and my shoulder was dislocated,” Barry explained after our 2-0 win over Fulham.
Since then, Barry appeared to struggle with his shoulder at different times during the season. The French striker could regularly been seen clutching the area, and when receiving treatment, you could see heavy strapping on the shoulder.
For a player who is involved in so many physical battles, this can’t have been easy to deal with. Barry was involved in 284 aerial duels last season, ranking him third in the Premier League. That’s despite playing just 1915 minutes.
Above him were Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Igor Thiago, who both played over 2700 minutes. Per 90 minutes, Barry averaged a stunning 13.35 aerial duels per 90 minutes, more than any other player. This can’t have been easy for someone carrying a shoulder injury.
It was a real introduction to the toughness of Premier League football. It has undoubtedly helped him grow as a player, physically and mentally.
Could Barry have done more throughout the campaign? Of course, but he now knows what the Premier League is all about.
Barry’s impressive pre-season so far
Barry is now preparing for his second campaign at Everton, and he’s looked like a different player during pre-season. He looks sharper, stronger, quicker, and more well-rounded as a striker.
His hold-up play has certainly improved, and his actions are much cleaner. He’s creating chances for others and bringing players into play, and it looks like he’s taken his game to the next level.
Barry knows himself that he needs to show more, and that’s crucial. It perhaps shows that he isn’t this arrogant player that many think he is, but merely a young lad trying to make his way in the game.
“I see a lot of commentary about me, and I don’t think I had a season where I showed who I am. The first season coming to a new league is difficult. It’s new defenders, the best defenders in the world, so I needed to adapt and trained a lot this summer for that.”
So far in pre-season, Barry has scored three times and won a penalty. That’s despite only starting three times and never finishing a game.
Now, that doesn’t mean an awful lot due to it being pre-season, but it’s his overall play during those games that has impressed the most.
What’s next for Barry?
Barry can do all the talking in the world, Barry can perform to an elite-level during pre-season, Barry can blame the doubters, but it’s about performing when it matters.
That’s not pointing fingers at Barry, it’s more hypothetical, but it’s true. Supporters don’t care about any of the above. They want to see Everton’s striker scoring goals and performing well.
Barry, as mentioned, had plenty of critics last season, and many have already made their mind up about him. But if he starts firing in the Premier League, everything will be forgotten.
Some have suggested Barry should be sold. But this is Barry’s time now. If it doesn’t work out this season, then that’s fine, we might have to move on, but he deserves another season after a period of adaptation.
I’d be making Barry our starting number nine. None of this rotating with Beto malarkey. I want to see Barry starting 30+ Premier League games. Injury free, adapted to the Premier League, and ready to prove people wrong.
Lets back him.