Matt Le Tissier impressed by Everton new boy who ‘works his nuts off’
Everton paid over the odds for Thierno Barry in the summer window but fans need to give him more time to adapt to the Premier League before being critical after his poor start to the season.
That is according to Premier League legend Matt Le Tissier, who has exclusively told Football Insider that he feels the Everton striker will score on a regular basis once he nets his first goal in royal blue.
Thierno Barry has seriously struggled to make an impact at Everton following his £27million move from Villarreal in the summer window.
He scored 11 goals in 35 La Liga appearances last season, but is yet to find the back of the net for his new club in 13 games up to now.
Barry has endured a tough start to life at Everton
Barry put in a poor performance against Fulham last time out as he missed a big chance and had a strike ruled out for offside.
A week prior to that, Barry missed a sitter against Sunderland, and his saving grace so far has been that fellow frontman Beto has also struggled for form up to now, hence him being given ample chances.
Toffees manager David Moyes backed the 23-year-old to improve as he gets used to English football following the Fulham match, saying: “Thierno has to get used to the physicality of being a centre-forward in the Premier League, what you are going to have to come up against.
“If he was scoring you wouldn’t think about it but when he isn’t scoring he has to be very good and I thought in other parts he worked his nuts off, ran hard, was committed and did a very good job for the team today.”
Richarlison has been linked with an Everton return ahead of the January window, with the club known to be exploring striker options considering the goal-scoring form of Barry and Beto.
Le Tissier thinks Everton overpaid for Barry but says fans now must stay patient
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former England international and Southampton legend Le Tissier admitted that he felt the £27m fee paid was too high for Barry, but urged those on Merseyside to stand by the striker and give him more time to keep adapting.
He said: “I think you’ve got to give somebody like that probably a little bit more time. Obviously, it’s not a great start, but he is putting a shift in for the team, which doesn’t go unnoticed amongst the fans, and will buy him a little bit of time to try and get some goals.
“I think with his background, he’s kind of been a one-in-three, one-in-four goal type striker. So, £27 million I thought was quite a hefty price tag for somebody who wasn’t that prolific, if I’m honest.
“But yeah, I think 13 games is still pretty early, and I remember during my career, I think Dennis Bergkamp went his first 12 games at Arsenal and never scored, and I know that because his first goals came against us (Southampton).
“We set him on the road to one hell of a Premier League career, let me tell you, because he was struggling. He was getting a lot of stick at the time, you know, and it’s amazing how just that getting off the mark can kind of just free everything up.
“(Barry) was a little bit unfortunate because he did get the ball on the back of the net when it was an offside. He did have a disallowed goal, bless him. But yeah, I think once he gets his first one, it might just set him off on a bit of a run, and so I think probably a little bit more patience is needed with him.”