Waste of Money: Everton Surely Regret £27m Deal After Man City Loss

After what has been a decent enough start to the 2025/26 Premier League season for Everton, owing to a successful summer window, the club will regret one move they made, as Thierno Barry continues to disappoint following a ‘5/10 performance’.

When David Moyes made his return to Goodison in January 2025, he almost instantly dragged the club away from constant negativity and brought good times back to the blue side of Merseyside. Elevating the club to a 13th-place finish, a move to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium and an impressive summer window saw optimism return.

Adding the likes of Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling, among others, the signing that was supposed to be the magnum opus was that of Thierno Barry from Villareal.

With Beto yet to find consistent goal-scoring form in a Blues shirt, Everton purchased the French forward for a reported £27 million. Having left the Spanish league with 15 goal contributions to his name in 37 appearances, it seemed an astute signing. However, that hasn’t been the case, and it looks like another number nine signing the club will live to regret.

Everton Will Live to Regret Signing £27 Million Goalless Forward

It has been a rollercoaster ride for Everton fans in recent years. From the joy of battling for European spots to the anxiety of relegation battles, amid it all, they have managed to stay afloat and maintain their top-flight status.

However, a constant within this time has been the lack of a consistent goal-scoring number nine. Having worked with Dominic Calvert-Lewin for nine years, the club moved on to Beto, who had been plying his trade in the Serie A. Yet, in Beto, they couldn’t find the goalscorer they needed, and in the summer of 2025, they turned their attention to Barry.

Just 22 years old, the forward has played nine games in the iconic blue kit but has yet to score. Worse yet, the Frenchman has been unable to find consistent game time within the squad, with Beto still being Everton’s starting number nine, despite Thierry Henry publicly complimenting the striker.

Being handed brief cameos ranging from 10 minutes to 45 minutes, his 223 minutes of Premier League action have resulted in four shots, none of which have been on target. A remarkably poor statistic, following what was an astute summer window, Everton will be regretting this one signing and thinking the £27 million could have been invested elsewhere, or on a better forward.

His most recent 15-minute outing away at Manchester City resulted in just five touches for the forward, none of which led to anything of note. A rare disappointment in a changed-looking Everton, it remains to be seen if Barry will be able to turn the tide on his goalscoring fortunes in England.