Thierno Barry causes Everton fascination amid 'dreadful' verdict that's been seen
Thierno Barry continues to be somewhat of a maverick figure at Everton.
The Toffees forked out around £27million to sign Barry from Villarreal in the summer of 2025.
During his first campaign at Everton, Barry managed eight Premier League goals from 38 top-flight appearances.
There was a sense that Barry had plenty of potential, but there were fears about his ability to be a regular source of goals.
Those questions were only exacerbated at the end of a transfer window, which saw the 23-year-old end up as Everton's only senior striker.
Barry has been among the goals so far this season, but Blue Room podcast host Matt Jones shared what he finds so fascinating about the Toffees striker.
Why Thierno Barry is causing so much intrigue at Everton
Barry was on target as Everton played out a 2-2 draw against Hull City in the Premier League last weekend.
That took him to three league goals for the campaign, and six across all competitions, meaning he is just two off his tally for last term.
However, Barry is also top of an unwanted statistic in the Premier League, and by some distance.
The French striker has missed 10 "big chances" in the Premier League already this season, more than double the amount of Igor Thiago, Erling Haaland, Gonzalo Garcia, and Dan Ndoye, who are all next on the list with five.
Jones, speaking on the Blue Room podcast, said he found the talk around Barry fascinating, as opinions he's seen online range from "dreadful" to those who say he could be Everton's best striker since Romelu Lukaku.
He said: "I've been really fascinated by the discourse around Barry, and it's kind of been fuelled by that stat, which everyone's heard now is that he's missed 10 big chances in the Premier League this season, which is double anybody else.
"But he is on six goals, he's two off his total last season. Everything I've read online since is either he's a Championship striker or he's dreadful and we should sell him.
"Or he's going to be our next, or our best, striker since Rom, and it just feels like the truth to me is just clearly somewhere in the middle. I just see a lad who's just not quite there yet, but he's improving.
"He's not perfect, he's going to miss chances. It seems alright to me for now, he's getting better, that's sound."
Everton's Thierno Barry conundrum
No one is doubting how hard Barry has worked, and continues to work, on improving his game.
The big chances missed stat looks alarming on paper, but at the same time it is encouraging that he's getting himself in the right positions.
Everton are in a little bit of a conundrum, though, because it's not like they can take him out of the firing line if he isn't scoring.
The decision to let Beto leave without a replacement definitely being in the door was an abysmal one.
When we get to January, Everton simply have to bring in another option to complement Barry.
It's not about stunting his development, but simply he needs help to shoulder the goalscoring burden.