The former Everton hitman believes David Moyes needs to recruit a new centre-forward this summer
Beto and Thierno Barry at Everton's training camp in Scotland this week
Beto and Thierno Barry at Everton's training camp in Scotland this week (Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC)
View 2 Images
Everton have made a promising start to the transfer window with the signings of Hayden Hackney and Tyrique George in addition to Merlin Rohl, whose loan move from Freiburg was made permanent after the club's Premier League safety was secured.
But Evertonians won't truly be satisfied until the priority position of a right-back is filled while there are a number of supporters who would like to see a centre-forward brought in.
Beto's and Thierno Barry's goal return last season wasn't shabby. The former's run of five in the final seven games took his Premier League tally for the term up to nine from 17 starts with the latter, a £27m arrival from Villarreal experiencing his first full season in England, finished one behind on eight in 21 starts.
But neither player truly made the position their own and Everton could have a decision to make on both this summer.
Beto is going into the final year of his contract while Barry has attracted interest from RB Leipzig. Should one leave, Blues boss David Moyes would need to recruit another centre-forward.
And it's against that backdrop that one of the best strikers Moyes signed in his first spell as the club's manager has delivered his verdict on the current Hill Dickinson Stadium frontmen.
Yakubu, who scored 33 goals for the Blues after signing from Middlesbrough for £11.25m in August 2007, told ToffeeWeb: "It's quite difficult when you look at Barry. He needs time. Many players take time in the Premier League, and in the Premier League you don’t have that time.
"You can see, he can run channels, we just need to keep the ball more. Sometimes when we’re in a difficult situation, we have to kick it long. When you look at the history of Everton Football Club, they always have a target man, you know? And Moyesie loves it.
"You just need to keep the ball, and he has to believe in himself to score goals. You see sometimes at the weekend, he looks sharp, and the other week it’s not the same. We need a striker who can be doing it every weekend, not scoring today, then the next week we’re struggling.
"But he’s a young player, don’t get me wrong, and he needs time. When you look at David Moyes, I think he gave him games, like five straight games in a row, just to build his confidence, and he didn’t take it.
"When you look at Beto, I swear, you know, he’s so big and he’s tall. I watched him when he was at Udinese, in Italy, and I was like: ‘This guy will be so good in the Premier League’. Then, lucky for us we got him, but we expect more from him as a striker.
"I expect him to keep the ball more, because sometimes he gives the ball away so easily. It’s frustrating for the players, you can see it in the players and the manager. Even me!
"But a big lad like him, he can keep the ball. Sometimes you see him, he’s scoring goals, like I just said, scoring goals, every week, and then five, six, or seven games not scoring. You see the confidence in him just goes down. I think he’s not a bad striker.
"From the fans and supporters, as a striker when you’re not scoring goals, there’s a lot of pressure. We just need that striker who can deliver, week in, week out, for us."
Yakubu certainly hit the ground running at Goodison Park, netting 11 minutes into his debut in a 2-1 win at Bolton Wanderers in September 2007 and going onto finish the campaign with 21 goals in all competitions, which made him the first Everton player to break the 20-goal barrier since Peter Beardsley in 1992.
But the Nigerian ruptured his Achilles tendon in November 2008 and while he scored on his first start in the first team on his return, he was unable to hit the heights of his debut campaign.
Fast-forward to the present day and another striker whose progress has stalled - albeit not by serious injury - is Liam Delap.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 07: Liam Delap of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Fulham and Chelsea at Craven Cottage on January 07, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Liam Delap scored just twice for Chelsea last season after turning down an offer from Everton (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Moyes attempted to sign Delap from Ipswich Town last summer but instead he chose to move to Chelsea, where he endured a difficult debut season.
Despite his return of just two goals in all competitions, it is understood that 23-year-old remains a player of interest to Everton, although a new striker is currently not the club's pressing transfer need.
And Yakubu, speaking to ToffeeWeb for the first edition of their Once a Blue series, said: "When you look at Delap, he did very well at Ipswich, scoring goals, and then moved to Chelsea. It’s a massive leap from Ipswich to Chelsea, you know? He’s found it difficult.
"To bring him from Chelsea to Everton, it’s not going to be easy. We’re just looking for a striker who can get the job done every weekend and he’s not a bad player to bring here. It would be a massive boost to the team, but can he do the same as he did at Ipswich? Who knows.
"He could come in and start scoring goals. He could come in and not score goals. The Premier League is one of the toughest leagues in the world.
"We just need a striker. I think we need a striker, a right-back, a midfielder as well who can deliver. We need three or four players. A right-back, a midfielder, and I think if we have a striker who can score goals, we’ll be fine."
The Blues kick-off their pre-season preparations with a friendly at Dundee on Saturday.