Barry
Everton may have something of a gauge on their forthcoming season under David Moyes' wing, with the Toffees showing off plenty of resilience and togetherness over the first phase of the Premier League campaign.
Staples of a Moyes system. The Merseysiders are level with Liverpool after five games, unbeaten and having enjoyed moments such as Ainsley Maitland-Niles' thunderous debut goal to level with Manchester United at the death.
REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff
However, the question remains: Do Everton have enough firepower to mount a challenge for Europe? Much seems to ride on Thierno Barry's shoulders.
Everton's in-house alternatives to Barry
Barry is the only senior striker Everton have on their books. The French forward looked promising after his £27m move from Villarreal one year ago, but so raw that he could have been put in a tartare.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Beto and Iliman Ndiaye were sold in August, so now, Moyes has been forced to consider Charly Alcaraz, Tyrique George and Brennan Johnson in unconventional No. 9 roles.
Thus far, Barry has started all five of Everton's Premier League matches. He scored on the opening day, and again before the international break, bagging the winner against Ipswich Town.
However, he has already missed six big chances besides, and it underlines the need for an alternative option. Johnson is still enduring a bleak and extended run of form, and George is talented but young, his explosiveness perhaps better suited out on the wing.
With all this in mind, it's no surprise that the Friedkin Group and technical director Angus Kinnear have considered the free agent market.
Will Everton sign a free agent striker?
In short, it's not very likely. Everton would have boarded that ship already, were they going to strengthen Moyes' side with one of the out-of-contract players floating about the 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
Most of the noise has centred around Mauro Icardi, who left Galatasaray at the end of his contract this summer, having spent four illustrious seasons with the Turkish side, winning the Super Lig each and every time.
He's 33, but it's hard to imagine the Argentine striker wouldn't score a few goals during his time at the Hill Dickinson. The sticking point, of course, would be his gargantuan wages. Would Everton get bang for their buck? Icardi is getting on a bit; he's also got a history for being something of a knave, his past punctuated with controversy.
REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya
Everton would have pounced already, had they the mind to put him in direct competition with Barry for the No. 9 berth. Instead, the veteran striker will have to look elsewhere, with his representatives having indeed suggested a move to Merseyside after the closure of the standard transfer window.
Moyes will have to make do - but that's not to say that Everton don't already have their eyes on a possible January addition.
Everton could see £20m bid accepted for Barry upgrade
Barry is talented, but he simply won't sustain the kind of form that Everton need to establish themselves in a European position this season.
Kinnear and co can make a fix in January, though, with Football Insider revealing that Everton could see a £20m bid accepted for wantaway Tottenham striker Richarlison during the winter window, Spurs prepared to cut their losses and lower their prior £35m asking price.
REUTERS/Matthew Childs
Richarlison has fallen by the wayside in north London. Despite finishing last season as the relegation-threatened side's top scorer in the Premier League, with ten strikes from 21 starts, he has been cut adrift by Roberto De Zerbi after trying to force a move away this summer.
Everton had hoped that something might happen, but alas, they failed to agree terms. Now, though, the 29-year-old is determined to move to a setting which can offer him stability and a platform to return to talismanic form - and where better than the Hill Dickinson, having scored 53 goals and supplied 15 assists across 152 appearances during his stint with the Toffees?
There's no question that the Brazilian attacker still has enough in the tank to offer something at Everton, and his knowledge of the outfit and superior scoring record in the Premier League could even see him leapfrog Barry as Everton's main man over the business months of the term.
Barry is talented, but he's hardly the finished product, and Richarlison would prove the perfect contrast. Across his four seasons in the Premier League with the Blues, he scored 43 goals, hitting double digits in three of four years.
Barry
There's no question that Everton should explore a move for their former player if the finances and terms are right. Richarlison is eager to return, and he might just prove a clinical upgrade on Barry at No. 9.