Thierno Barry has enjoyed a good few weeks for Everton.
The striker joined the club in the summer from Villarreal, with the Toffees forking out around £27 million to land him.
The fee naturally had people excited, with Thierno Barry arriving with real hype.
So far though, it has been a bit of a lukewarm start for the Frenchman. That said though, he has been much improved in recent weeks.
How good was Thierno Barry by the way? 🔥
Barry scored his first goal for the club against Nottingham Forest on December 6. And he has recently embarked on a run of three goals in his last four Premier League games.
Against Aston Villa, he gave his best display to date, and his game-winning finish was really impressive.
But despite all the plaudits he’s come in for, David Moyes has laid down the gauntlet to the youngster.
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Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko offer perspective on Everton striker Thierno Barry
It was perhaps always going to be tricky for Barry at first.
He is still relatively young at 23, and the Premier League can be quite unforgiving for players coming from overseas, especially strikers since it’s such a challenge to score goals.
Thankfully Barry is looking a lot better compared to those early weeks after he first signed.
For Moyes though, Barry needs to start scoring more often.
He said: “He’s certainly improved since he first came in. But you know, young French U21 centre-forward, it’s never easy for anyone to come to a new country. Especially a centre-forward, the hardest position to score goals in this league.
“I have to say, I need him to score more. We brought him here, you’re young. You’re relatively inexperienced at this level. But no, that goes right out the window. Everyone talks about your number nine scoring goals and that’s the case, and for long parts we haven’t done enough.”
Barry has had criticism this season. But perhaps it has been slightly overboard at times.
When you compare him to other players in the Premier League, he isn’t doing too badly.
On Sunday, Arsenal hosted Manchester United and it was interesting to see both of their new striker signings Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko start on the bench.
Gyokeres has five Premier League goals this season, and Sesko has four.
Barry has four for Everton, and cost considerably less than both of these players.
So while it would obviously be great to see him up his goalscoring rate, it’s worth remembering that players far more costly than him are also finding the going tough after coming to the Premier League from overseas.
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Encouraging signs over Everton striker Barry
The message here from Moyes is good. He acknowledges the improvement of Barry, but makes it very clear that he wants more from his striker.
But it seems like he’ll get the chance to add more goals for Everton having leapt in front of Beto in the pecking order.
Moyes admitted Barry has come out of his shell much more in training, and is now shouting at teammates and showing personality.
This is encouraging, and clearly shows that he is getting more comfortable in his surroundings and with his teammates.
It is a moment now for Barry to embrace the purple patch he’s in and really kick on. If he can do that, then Everton can potentially mount a genuine challenge for European football.
Having that regular goalscorer up top could really be the difference, because at the back Everton are solid.
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