Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
It’s definitely fair to say that Thierno Barry is a player who divides opinion at Everton.
In July 2025, Everton swooped for the Frenchman, who had spent just one season over in La Liga with Villarreal, with the club paying around £27 million for the transfer.
With Beto having lacked that cutting edge up top, it was hoped that Thierno Barry could either provide that himself, or enough of a challenge to see Beto improve his own finishing.
The pair both rotated in and out of the team last season and in the end there was very little to separate them in terms of goalscoring. But Everton then sold Beto ahead of the current season. The plan was to sign Folarin Balogun as his replacement, but problems at the medical stage saw the move collapse. Balogun walked away, leaving Barry as the sole striker.
It’s been a great start to the season for Everton so far, but which has been the best game and why?
The Toffees have four wins and a draw from the first five games 🔥
This is now his moment to really prove himself.
Everton’s latest game against Hull City, though, saw Barry put in a rather typical Barry performance – and it prompted a mixed reaction from fans.
That has been the case for the majority of the time he’s been here, so how has he actually done and is there reason for optimism or cause for concern?
Barry is clearly still quite raw in his development
So far, Barry has scored 14 goals in 49 appearances for the Toffees. On the face of it, that return is a little underwhelming.
In his first season, it was on him to displace Beto from the team. Granted, it can be difficult being the second striker trying to oust your teammate, coming on in games when there isn’t much time to make a significant impact.
Barry took quite a while to adapt to the English top-flight, failing to score in the Premier League until the game with Nottingham Forest on December 6. Up to that point, he had struggled against opposition centre-backs, showing a lack of physicality despite being at least 6ft 4in tall. He also looked clunky and missed plenty of chances.
In 2026, though, he started to get his act together. Six of the eight goals he got in 2025/26 came in the second half of the season, and he was being given starts more often by David Moyes.
This season, he has scored six times already for Everton. Although the Barry critics will say the numbers are slightly skewed in that three of those came in one Carabao Cup game against Preston North End.
Against Hull, Barry was on target, but he missed a number of good chances. And at the moment in the Premier League, he has missed 10 ‘big’ chances, which is by far the most of any player in the division. There are then five players below him in joint second, each with five big chances missed.
Barry remains a work in progress in terms of becoming a clinical striker. But while he does continue to frustrate, there are also things to like about the Frenchman.
Barry is improving and you can see how hard he’s working
That he’s missed 10 ‘big’ chances is annoying on the face of it. But it does also suggest that Barry is getting himself into the right positions. Perhaps a more worrying sign would be him not even getting the opportunities.
Against Hull, he missed several chances before actually scoring, rather than after. This shows a good mentality, especially since the goal Barry scored was very missable. He went through in a one-vs-one situation, and it cannot have been a comfortable feeling knowing he’d missed a couple of great chances earlier in the game. But he finished with aplomb, showing that he is capable. It’s just about finding that consistency now.
And Barry is working hard to achieve that.
Many will have seen the video he released on his YouTube channel recently, which showed him doing individual work with a coach. The video showed a vulnerable side to Barry, who appears to put a lot of pressure on himself.
At the end of that video, he struck a more defiant tone and revealed that he knew what he needed to do in order to improve. And this term, we’ve been seeing improvements. His link-up play and his understanding of his teammates are generally better. And importantly, Barry’s body language has also been a lot better. By his own admission, last season it wasn’t as good as it should have been.
Has his signing been a success?
Not everyone will agree given how divisive Barry is, but his signing has arguably been a success so far. Not a resounding one, but he’s done well in tricky circumstances.
14 goals in 49 games could be better, but the improvements in Barry’s all-round game are clear to see. Sky Sports recently shared data that showed Barry ranking in the top-five players in the Premier League this season for both counter-pressures and the number of high-speed runs made while pressing the opposition.
And against Hull, despite some frustrations in front of goal, he was at least a handful. Squawka data indicates he won 10 aerial duels against the Tigers – no forward has won as many in a single Premier League game this season.
These are not the most important things for a striker, but they do help the team and things like this will no doubt be appreciated by Moyes.
Some have made up their minds about Barry and don’t believe he’s good enough. But no one can deny the improvements he’s made, and they should be appreciated given the massive pressure he’s been put under. He will continue to frustrate, but hopefully Barry keeps at it and with the support of the fans, he can find the consistency that will take him to the next level.