Why life's going from bad to worse for Beto post-Everton as striker branded 'unusable'

Beto's hopes of kickstarting his career away from Everton have not exactly gone to plan so far.

The 28-year-old returned to Italy on transfer deadline day in a deal worth a reported £15million.

Beto was a regular target for criticism on Merseyside, having netted just 25 goals in 113 appearances for the Toffees.

Everton splashed out just short of £26m to sign the Guinea-Bissau striker from Udinese three years earlier.

Like at Everton, Beto has struggled to make a positive impact in five appearances for his latest club.

While there is still time for the Portuguese-born player to turn things around, the early signs are not great.

What's been said about Beto's early Fiorentina displays?

Beto has yet to score for Fiorentina, though he did assist a goal in the 4-2 win over Venezia a month ago.

Speaking during the recent international break, ex-sporting director Pino Vitale urged Beto to lose some weight.

That was a pretty damning assessment, and things have not exactly improved since then.

As covered by Sport Witness, former Fiorentina defender Fabrizio Bern took aim at Beto over the weekend.

"I still can't understand what kind of player [Christ] Oulai is: some say he’s the new [N'Golo] Kante, others say he’s a [Nicolo] Fagioli copy. I still can’t quite put my finger on him," Bern told Firenze Viola.

“And I also include Beto, who is unusable in these conditions; he reminds me of the worst [Arthur] Cabral.”

Quotidiano Sportivo, meanwhile, state that Beto "isn't up to scratch" for Fiorentina, having come in to replace fellow former Toffee Moise Kean.

How does Beto compare to Thierno Barry right now?

Thierno Barry, like Beto, comes in for plenty of criticism among Everton fans.

Given he has missed more big chances than any other player in the Premier League this term, that is understandable.

At the same time, Barry has scored six goals in all competitions so far this campaign.

Beto, by comparison, has none, albeit he has played four games fewer.

Including the two games Beto played for Everton this term prior to his exit, both players have featured in six league games.

Barry is averaging 0.54 direct goal involvements per 90 minutes, compared to 0.45 for Beto.

Neither player is ideal for a team with upward ambitions, but Barry is definitely the better of the two - as Fiorentina are now finding out.