Credit: Imago and Sky Sports

Jacob Raw

Fri 20 March 2026 19:40, UK

Everton needs Beto to step up for them with the season coming to a close, as David Moyes has good reason not to play Thierno Barry right now.

The Toffees have had striker issues all season long, in what has been an up-and-down campaign for both the number nines.

But the turning point may have finally come in Everton’s last game against Arsenal, when Barry received online backlash for sharing footage of his friends being involved in an altercation with some Blues fans in the away end.

Not all, but some Evertonians weren’t happy that the Frenchman shared the identity of those involved, and now it may be time for Moyes to show him a spot on the bench.

Beto’s form has improved for Everton, and one thing you can get from the forward is a 100 per cent work rate each game.

The stats prove Beto is ready to lead the Toffees in battle

Everton understand that Barry is a development signing, and it’s up for debate on whether his six-goal return in the Premier League so far is good enough for the price paid to sign him this summer.

But given there is some slight drama with the 23-year-old right now, it may be best for him to start on the bench against Chelsea this Saturday.

As highlighted by Sofascore, Beto interestingly has a 0.01 better rating than Barry this season, with a score of 6.50.

He is, however, underperforming his league xG by 2.56, showing that Barry has been more clinical than him this season.

But Beto seems to have come out of the end of his roughest patch of the season, and given that his head is in the right space, it would be wise of Moyes to play him instead of Barry this weekend.

Moyes has called Beto’s work ethic “amazing”, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo in November, and it’s something that can be used to unsettle Chelsea’s defence.

What has David Moyes said about Thierno Barry situation?

There’s a high chance that both Barry and the Everton fans who have felt let down by the situation at Arsenal will sweep things under the rug.

But it’s a grim thought to imagine what Hill Dickinson’s reaction would be if the striker had a poor game against Chelsea, or even worse, missed a sitter.

Speaking about the incident to the media before the game against Liam Rosenior’s side, Moyes admitted that it’s not his domain to comment on.

Moyes said, as quoted by the BBC on Friday: “We’ve spoken about it, the club have spoken to him. We’ve addressed it as best as we possibly can, but it’s not my world, to be honest. If you understand social media, you’ll know more about it than me. I don’t get involved.”

So it seems like the Toffees boss may have let others handle it, in hopes they can calm everything down.