The Liverpool ECHO's Everton writers Connor O'Neill and Chris Beesley consider their player of the campaign to date after an impressive start to the season for the Blues
Jarrad Branthwaite James Tarkowski Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and James Garner during Everton's draw with Tottenham Hotspur
Jarrad Branthwaite James Tarkowski Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and James Garner during Everton's draw with Tottenham Hotspur(Image: (Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images))
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Ten games into their Premier League season, Everton sit sixth in the table. The 3-1 comeback victory over Coventry City on Friday night capped what has been a strong start to the campaign for David Moyes and his side.
The win was Everton’s third in eight days after they had beaten Newcastle United twice in the space of four days, in both the League Cup and the Premier League. The Blues have only suffered two defeats so far this season, against Chelsea and Arsenal, and a number of the club’s players have produced impressive displays.
And with that in mind, our Everton writers Connor O’Neill and Chris Beesley have their say on who they believe has been the standout performer so far this season.
Connor O'Neill
You can’t take anything away from Thierno Barry and the goals he has scored so far this season. I don’t think any of us saw this sort of form happening, but you have to give the lad credit, he has certainly started to produce the goods.
However, and I know I sound very critical, there have also been times when he hasn’t done enough and times when he has been poor.
Granted, he is by no means the finished product, but there have been occasions when you just expect him to hold the ball up better or show a little bit more composure.
While behind him Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is another who has really stepped up in recent weeks, especially in the absence of Jack Grealish.
However, for me Everton’s player of the season so far is James Tarkowski. I think it has perhaps gone under the radar just how good he has been.
Understandably, there will always be fanfare around Jarrad Branthwaite, and his return to the side has made a massive difference.
But for me, Tarkowski has just been superb and barely put a foot wrong. And in the recent defeat to Arsenal, it felt like he was holding the team together.
A special shoutout to Vitalii Mykolenko, who certainly deserves more praise for his performances so far this season, but Tarkowski has been immense - an invaluable free signing and a talisman through dark times.
Everton boss David Moyes
We’re a quarter of the way into the 2026/27 season so far and there have been several Everton players who have stood out in terms of their form.
I fully understand Connor’s choice of James Tarkowski, who – although he was wearing the armband for most games last year anyway – has taken on the extra responsibility of succeeding Seamus Coleman as club captain and led by example so far. The skipper has been an absolute rock at the back for the Blues this term.
But while the centre-back – who turns 34 later this month – endured an up and down time last season, we’ve all known for a long time that he’s got that in his locker. It’s a similar scenario with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who has been catching the eye in recent weeks and is again desperately unfortunate not to have been awarded a dream first call-up by England.
Although the midfielder only arrived in August 2025, he seemingly grasped from the start what it takes to be an Everton player. An articulate presence on and off the pitch, Dewsbury-Hall is also a tenacious competitor in the manner that Blues supporters love.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall after scoring for Everton against Coventry City
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall after scoring for Everton against Coventry City (Image: (Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images))
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However, it’s been a tougher adaptation process to life on Merseyside for another of the new recruits who was snapped up on the eve of the move to Hill Dickinson Stadium. Thierno Barry joined a month before Dewsbury-Hall but it took him much longer to get going.
Last season, he was the only other squad member along with Player of the Season James Garner to feature in every game but their respective minutes on the pitch (3714 and 2066) showed how the Frenchman was deployed in a job share scheme with Beto. With a £40million move for USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun collapsing at the 11th hour on transfer deadline day though, Barry has found himself as Everton’s only recognised striker but has thrived in the circumstances.
In 2025/26, it took him 17 matches, 737 minutes and 19 shots to break his scoring duck. While he might have the most ‘big chances missed’ in the Premier League this term, Barry has already overtaken his goals tally for the previous campaign (eight) and reached double figures in all competitions.
While Evertonians will hope that the 24-year-old can continue to add to the physicality in his game, he seems to have more fire in his belly now and sent a defiant message to insist nobody would stop this from being his season after his family home was burgled during the 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over Newcastle United. After scoring that night, he subsequently went on to grab the match-winner in another meeting with the Magpies four days later and has followed that up with a brace against Coventry City.