The numbers that prove why Everton fans should be patient with Thierno Barry
Everton striker Thierno Barry has struggled to find his feet so far.
Barry was signed by Everton for approximately £34million, and the expectation was that he would challenge Beto for a starting place.
However, the Guinea-Bissau man has been David Moyes‘ go-to forward at the moment, starting five of the Toffees’ six Premier League matches.
Barry is yet to find the net for Everton, and some supporters are starting to turn on the France Under-21 international.
Thierno Barry can come good for Everton
Michael Keane has already opened up about Barry’s impact in Everton training, and the hope will be that he can replicate that on the pitch, when it matters.
Barry has had a slow start, but that is not necessarily a concern for the Blues, as he has only played 277 minutes for the club in all competitions.
In the 2023-24 season for Basel, the Frenchman did not score in the Swiss Super League until he notched a brace against FC Winterthur on 30 January 2024 in his 18th match, and he went on to get nine goals in the league.
Then, after joining Villarreal, he scored his first La Liga goal against Celta Vigo after two matches, but he did not score again until his seventh game, and finished on 11 strikes for the 2024-25 season.
Those numbers highlighted above by the Sofascore graphic suggest that Moyes and the supporters need to be patient with the 22-year-old forward.
David Moyes needs to start Barry more
Moyes needs to give Barry a chance to get used to the pace and physicality of the top-flight by handing him starts, rather than small cameos from the bench.
The numbers suggest that he will adapt to his surroundings, and eventually start to hit the target more often.
However, if he is not given a chance to do so, he will not hit those heights, and his confidence may decrease, meaning that he might not fulfil his potential on Merseyside.
The Scotsman needs to show his new forward that he has faith in him, and let him lead the line over his rival for the position, who has failed to kick on from the form that he showed last season.
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