From nightmare debut season to Everton hero - Barry's revival

Published2 November 2026

Last season Thierno Barry scored eight goals in 41 appearances.

This season it's taken him just 12 games to match that tally.

On Monday night Barry scored against Newcastle for the second time in five days as his side earned a deserved win at St James' Park in the Premier League.

Only Erling Haaland (13) has scored more goals among Premier League players in all competitions this season than Barry (eight).

The 24-year-old is on his best run of form since joining the club from Villarreal last summer and, as Everton's only recognised senior striker following Beto's transfer to Fiorentina, is currently indispensable to the Toffees.

By scoring once again Barry highlighted why Everton paid £27m for a striker who grew up watching Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku score for the Toffees.

The Frenchman had a rough start to life on Merseyside, having just one shot across his first 16 Everton games, and last month posted a video of himself breaking down during a private training session last season.

That moment was contrasted by his celebration on Monday night, which started with a knee slide and ended with dance moves.

"I was working a lot during the summer and now we can see the result," Barry told Sky Sports.

"The season is long but I'm happy to help the team with my goals.

"I want to enjoy more than last season and I enjoyed my celebration so I am happy."

It was a controversial strike though with Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle telling BBC Sport there was "a clear foul on Fabian Schar" in the build-up.

Who produced the kind of performance Moyes loves? - player ratings

• Published1 day ago

Who produced the kind of performance Moyes loves? - player ratings

Published1 day ago

Grealish can still have Everton future - Moyes

• Published23 hours ago

Grealish can still have Everton future - Moyes

Published23 hours ago

Jeers again as home woes continue - Jaissle has big problems at Newcastle

• Published22 hours ago

Jeers again as home woes continue - Jaissle has big problems at Newcastle

Published22 hours ago

Barry cements himself as Everton's main man

In the Premier League Barry leads the way for being involved in the highest proportion of his team's big chances.

Before Monday's match, Everton had recorded 24 big chances, and Barry had been involved in 15 of them (62.5%).

The striker has often been criticised for being wasteful in front of goal.

In Monday's match, for instance, he latched on to Jarrad Branthwaite's flick-on but, when through on goal, made a poor connection with the ball and scuffed his shot.

His goal - a tap-in from two yards - was very difficult not to convert, with the opportunity having had an incredibly high xG of 0.995.

"We know Barry misses chances, but we also know this season he keeps going and he scores goals," former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports.

His manager David Moyes added: "We're thrilled he's getting the goals because you need your centre-forward to score. He has missed a few but thankfully tonight he was on the spot to get the goal."

Follow Everton on BBC Sounds

Pre-match, post-match and topical Toffees content

Subscribe and listen for everything you love about the Blues

Related topics

Everton

Football

Premier League

More on this story

Latest Everton news, analysis and fan views

Latest Everton news, analysis and fan views

Ask about Everton - what do you want to know?

Ask about Everton - what do you want to know?