Everton were spot on with Youssef Chermiti decision as Thierno Barry comparison made

Youssef Chermiti and Thierno Barry have both struggled to make the required impact in their times at Everton.

The Portugal Under-21 star joined the Blues in 2023, but was sold to Rangers in an £8.5million deal two years later.

The France Under-21 ace joined last summer, replacing Chermiti, but he had a tough first season on Merseyside.

The strikers fortunes have been drastically different this campaign, which has left questions over the Toffees' business decisions.

Everton may well feel like they should have kept Chermiti and not signed Barry.

Everton transfer question raised by legend

The question has now been raised by Graeme Sharp, as the Everton legend has noticed Blues fans asking whether they made the right decision.

Speaking to the Sunday Mail newspaper on 7 June, he said: “Some people are trying to compare Chermiti to Barry - Everton fans are asking ‘Should we have let him go? Should we have kept him?’

“He’s done well at Rangers but if you go back to my generation, to be a centre-forward you had to be tough, aggressive, have running ability, tackling, passion.

“I don’t think that’s what’s needed nowadays. The game has changed and it’s a different way people look at things.

“But at the end of the day you’ll still get judged on the goals you score."

Why Chermiti's exit was the right decision despite Rangers form

Chermiti did not notch a single goal in his 24 senior appearances at Everton, but his forunes have changed drastically in Glasgow.

He made 30 Scottish Premiership appearances, scoring 15 goals and bagging five assists.

In his first season in English football, Barry managed just eight goals and never got an assist in 38 league games.

Chermiti also edged him out when it comes to big chances created with four to two and key passes averaged with 0.7 to 0.3.

David Moyes likes his attackers to defend from the front, and the Portuguese star averaged 0.9 tackles to Barry's 0.2 and two ball recoveries to the Blues star's 0.9.

However, it must be stressed that the Premier League is a much harder division than in Scotland.

Chermiti may well be thriving because he is in a different environment, one that is not as intimidating as the L3 outfit.

Barry has actually managed a decent amount of senior goals for the Toffees, and that was one thing which Chermiti could not do, and that has to count for something.

He deserves to be given time, at least the same amount that the Ibrox star was, before judgement is made, and he may well prove to be the better man.

There is no guarantee that the former Sporting man would have kicked on and had the same impact at the Hill Dickinson Stadium his exit was the right decision.