Everton have ended 2025 with a much-needed win against Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest.
Despite the injury crisis, Everton managed to beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at the City Ground, with goals from James Garner and Thierno Barry.
Toffees fans were blown away by Garner’s performance, and all agreed that he was the Man of the Match.
Bet you weren’t expecting that when you saw the starting XI! 👏
Barry also earned some plaudits as he slotted coolly past John Victor to seal the three points in the East Midlands.
David Moyes made an admission about the Everton striker that could be quite telling ahead of the January transfer window.
David Moyes really happy with Thierno Barry after Everton beat Nottingham Forest
Barry has really struggled since joining from Villarreal in the summer, and there has been speculation that Everton will sign a new striker in January.
However, speaking to the media post-match, Moyes was keen to heap praise on the Frenchman and note that he’s improving a lot.
“You should see my relief when he scored as well! He’s getting better, doing a lot of things we like,” the Scotsman said.
“We hope he can keep getting the goals.”
How are you feeling about Thierno Barry after THAT performance? 🤔
A big display from the summer signing! 👏
Barry’s performance, and most importantly his goal, could actually alter Moyes’ stance on bringing in another forward.
The Toffees want a midfielder and a full-back this winter, so there are other areas that really need addressing.
They will have to be selective with their budget, considering they spent over £100m in the summer, so perhaps a striker may be placed on the back burner for now.
If Barry were to score against Brentford on Sunday, it would certainly increase his chance of retaining the starting spot for the second half of the season.
David Moyes reiterates European ambitions
Moyes also touched on his desire to qualify for Europe, which has been a consistent goal of his all season.
“We’d like to get ourselves in there (near the European places), maybe later in the season,” the 62-year-old explained.
“We need to try and keep pushing on but we need to get some key players back because that will be too difficult to do without them.”
Tim was outstanding again 🔥
Does he keep Gueye out the team if he continues this form?
Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye may not return from AFCON until the end of January, whilst the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jarrad Branthwaite, to name only a couple, are out injured.
So, the Toffees may be in for a challenging January, but based on that performance tonight, it seems to be galvanising the squad even closer together.
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