Thierno Barry is finally off the mark for Everton, but the French striker is now needing to add some consistency to his game.
It took the Everton summer signing longer than hoped to get up and running in front of goal in the Premier League, but he opened his account against Nottingham Forest.
David Moyes has seen just two goals come from his two strikers this season, with Barry and Beto now boasting a single goal each.
Clearly, this is not good enough, but on the back of his opening goal, Moyes has seen Barry’s confidence grow in the days since.
The 23-year-old is going to need to step up his game at the weekend against Arsenal with so many players potentially missing.
And he is already studying three other forwards to help develop his game.
Thierno Barry is studying Liverpool forward amid Everton struggles
One goal simply will not drag Barry out of his struggles, with consistency needed from the Everton striker in front of goal.
A lot of Everton fans were not impressed with Barry at the weekend against Chelsea, but he did suffer from a lack of service at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to the Everton website, Barry has admitted there are three forwards he’s studying to improve, one of which is a Liverpool player.
If Dewsbury-Hall and Grealish are out, Everton SHOULD start both Beto and Barry vs Arsenal! 😬
Prove us wrong…
“I don’t have the same quality of him. But when I was at Sochaux, I played on the wing. [Kylian] Mbappe also played [in that position]. And me, my strength is my speed, like him. So that’s why I look a lot at Mbappe,” said Barry.
However, his next name is the one which may ruffle a few feathers on the blue half of Merseyside.
“We arrived in the same situation, coming in this summer. So that’s why I like the new strikers like [Hugo] Ekitike and [Nick] Woltemade. They’re my generation. I like to look at their game.”
Everton fans gave Barry a standing ovation after he was replaced during the Forest game which saw him score his first goal.
There is a lot of love on Merseyside for Barry, but he simply is going to have to start finding the back of the net regularly if the likes of Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are going to be out injured.
Barry must lead Everton against Arsenal
Everton are yet to share an injury update on Grealish or Dewsbury-Hall on the back of the loss against Chelsea.
If the two summer signings are going to miss the game against the Gunners, that would leave Barry without the full trio which played behind him at Stamford Bridge.
Name some things more likely than Thierno Barry scoring 11+ goals this season… 😬
He'd need some second half to the term to reach those numbers…
A whole new level could be demanded from Barry if he is to be playing without the likes of Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye.
Moyes is also expecting his full-backs to help the strikers, but the prospect of missing the attacking trio could suggest a possible formation change from Moyes.
Everton are open to offloading Beto in January, however, playing two up front may well be a consideration Moyes may have to think about ahead of Saturday.
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