wayne-rooney-everton
Thierno Barry's start-of-season purple patch looked like it had given way to the hot-and-cold scoring form that frustrated Everton fans last season, but his winning goal against Ipswich Town confirmed David Moyes has a talented No. 9 at his disposal.
If Barry stays fit until the January transfer window, when Everton and Angus Kinnear can explore their options, the Toffees might just have enough to sustain a challenge for European football.
It's been a positive start to the season after a disastrous summer transfer window. Everton are unbeaten in five in the Premier League, seventh as the extended autumn international arrives. They are level on points with fourth-place Brentford, and level with Liverpool too.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
But there can be no denying the fragility of Everton's depth, especially in attack. Some believe Moyes and Kinnear are missing a trick in turning their nose at the free agent market.
Why Everton haven't signed a free agent
Everton sold Beto at the end of the transfer window. They also sold Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City, leaving Barry alone to score the goals over the current campaign.
Therefore, it's understandable that there should be such a clamour for opportunities lying around the free agent market.
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Free Agents Everton May Have Considered
Player
Mauro Icardi
Anthony Martial
Wilfried Zaha
Jadon Sancho
Raheem Sterling
Riyad Mahrez
Abdoulaye Doucoure
But the options are slim, and not all that pretty. When the season deepens, free agents are free agents for a reason.
Everton have been linked with a number of the names listed above. Mauro Icardi, for example, is on Moyes' radar, with representatives having offered the veteran Argentine to the Hill Dickinson club following the closure of the transfer window.
REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya
However, Icardi is 33, known for his irascible nature and sure to demand a staggering salary after a career winning titles with the likes of Inter Milan and Galatasaray.
Elsewhere, Anthony Martial's name has been bandied about, but the 30-year-old forward has been well below his one-time standards at Manchester United for some time now, and after an unsuccessful 2025/26 season in Mexico with Monterrey, it's unlikely that he would offer the perfect solution to an Everton side in need of a talismanic attacking force.
Martial once burst onto the scene in the Premier League with the gusto of a prodigy such as Wayne Rooney, but those early days are long gone now, unrecoverable.
However, Everton could park all this and instead place their attention on a rising star who could echo Wayne Rooney in making an immediate impact after bursting onto the Premier League stage.
Everton could unleash the new Wayne Rooney
Everton might have a shortage of quality options up top right now, but it hasn't always been that way. Once, Rooney burst onto the scene at Goodison Park - also under Moyes' wing.
Wayne Rooney's first spell at Everton stats (timeless)
Rooney is one of the greatest players of his generation, and while he didn't spend too long with the Merseysiders before joining Manchester United, he left an indelible mark at the club.
Imagine Moyes pulling off the same trick twice with Braiden Graham, who continues to impress for the development side and may now earn a shot at climbing into Everton's frontline.
Graham, 18, has been called up to Michael O'Neill's senior Northern Ireland squad for the imminent batch of Nation's League fixtures, though the manager has urged observers not to "pigeonhole" the versatile forward, who is yet to establish his best position.
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Braiden Graham: Everton Career by Position
Position
Left winger
Centre-forward
Attacking midfield
Right winger
That's fine. Rooney, too, was something of a tactical chameleon, cementing an inimitable legacy in the Premier League. Like Graham, he always scored goals. With 207 in the competition, he is surpassed only by Alan Shearer and Harry Kane.
So far this season, Graham has scored three goals and supplied an assist across four matches for the U21s, also named as an (unused) substitute across the Merseysiders' past three Premier League outings.
Naturally prolific in front of goal, Graham has already drawn plaudits for his tenacious work-rate, record in front of goal and technical skill in possession, and while he might not be the same standard as Rooney when the Premier League icon burst onto the scene, he does have the skillset to make a difference for Moyes' current crop of Toffees.
The biggest issue is Graham's current physical level. Would he be able to withstand the pressure of elite and senior football on a weekly basis? If Moyes thinks he might stand a chance, Everton could find the shrewd answer to all their problems.