David Moyes offered a broadly sympathetic assessment of Thierno Barry’s first season in English football as Everton prepared to visit Manchester City, saying supporters have little patience and young players may not be given two or three years to develop.
Moyes pointed to the realities around the club and the league: Barry, 23, has six Premier League goals this season after a slow start following a move from Villarreal, and his last strike — the winner at Newcastle United — came in February.
That winter run, which produced decisive goals against Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, has not been sustained. Barry has since lost his place to Beto, has made just one start in the last six league matches and has been on the pitch for 160 of a possible 540 league minutes since his last goal.
The forward has also been affected by off-field rows. Sections of his own fanbase booed him amid those issues, and he criticised a group of travelling supporters on social media after the defeat at Arsenal. Police are investigating what was referred to in appeals for information as an altercation.
Moyes framed those frictions in a wider picture of impatience in the game. He warned supporters are demanding immediate results and that young players may not be afforded the two or three years historically required to find top form. Moyes stressed that Barry is in his first year in the country and that Everton have four games remaining — he said if the striker can find a couple of goals in those matches, the season would not look a bad return for a young centre-forward.
The manager also defended Everton’s decision to back a young signing. He said the club took a chance on an up-and-coming striker, that Barry has not done badly, and that he believes the player is improving as he adapts to the Premier League’s demands.
Numbers around the market underline the pressure on alternatives. Barry has one Premier League goal fewer than Nick Woltemade, who moved for £65m in the summer, and the Magpies spent £55m on Yoane Wissa, who has one league goal this season. Nottingham Forest paid around £26m for Arnaud Kalimuendo, who failed to score in nine league appearances before being loaned to Germany — examples Moyes used to point out that big fees do not guarantee immediate returns.
There is a sharper tension, though, between Moyes’ defence and the recent match evidence. Barry’s run without a goal stretched into second-half appearances against Liverpool and at West Ham United, and the social media row and supporter reaction have clearly dented his standing. He has six goals from a debut season that Goodison News later reported as a £34million deal, while the club’s initial move from Villarreal was described as a £27m transfer — details that reflect the noisy scrutiny around any young striker at Everton.
With Moyes publicly backing a player he says is still improving, Everton’s immediate task is simple and stark: Barry must lift his form across the last four fixtures if he is to change the narrative. The club is also expected to review its striking options in the summer, meaning this month will shape whether Barry returns to favour or becomes part of that evaluation.
For Barry, the test is concrete — finish the season with meaningful contributions and he keeps a claim on Moyes’ future plans; fail to score and his brief purple patch in winter and the Newcastle winner in February may prove to be the high point of a debut campaign that has yet to find consistent forward momentum.
