Thierno Barry becomes the first of many summer arrivals for Everton

Lets be that dark horse team

COYB

How do you know we paid pounds? The other club are in Europe. Assuming we sent a wire transfer you have the option of sending it as pounds and the Spanish bank convert it to Euros or converting it to Euros first and then wiring it as Euros. Often times you get a better exchange rate if you convert it to a foreign currency at your bank before it is sent as opposed to sending it as pounds and letting their bank convert it. Ergo, we probably did pay in Euros.

I firmly believe my calling on TW is to bitch, and moan and complain. If it gets people to do what I'm doing, which is moaning and bitching, then I've achieved my goal, instead of a lot of old housewives knitting away in agreement.😁

No worries. If Kenwright was still alive, we probably would have paid in pounds. A bag of used fivers dug up from his backyard -- half of them counterfeit.

It would have been horrible if this had dragged on, and we'd not been able to get in one of our top targets. Best in all top five leagues in the air (well, second).

I can't see us having either him or Beto on the bench, I think Beto will go, and we will get in another attacker who can play across all forward positions.

He's only 22, so I reckon there will be a fair few games when he's not very effective, but he seems to be improving at a rate of knots, and anyone who is tall, fast, and scores goals, will get on okay.

Assuming we are not just a temporary stepping stone for him, you have to wonder why he would choose Everton if he actually does have the ability to "terrorise Premier League defences" as the pundits like to say. Hopefully he will at least be able to trap the ball first time. That'll be a start.

Sly sports, talksport.
They’re all one eyed and obsessed with the sly 6.

The sly 6 are the only teams to talk about in their one eyes(s).

I think one of them is actually an Evertonian.
Imagine being surrounded endless sly 6 bile.

Fuck them.

Welcome to Everton, Barry.

I have no idea nor strong feelings one way or another about whether this is a good buy. It feels like it could go both ways, but he’s younger than Cenk or Niasse was when we brought them in, more polished than Chermiti, with a better touch than Beto, or so it seems. We absolutely have to keep Beto unless we’re sure we can bring in another striker and plan to keep Chermiti around. Otherwise we’re asking way too much of the young lad to be our starting number 9 and hit the ground running, even at that price.

I was surprised that striker was our first big buy, but we have no choice but to bring in 4-6 more, so it doesn’t really matter the order they come in, just that they come in at all. Only Armstrong is ready from the youngsters to compete, so let’s just hope we have the money and smarts to bring in the right people from here.

All signs so far are good.

Nobody starts a season with one striker, or even two.

And Barry has been signed because he has bags of pace, aggression and skill. And tons of potential.

He's not the the finished article. Not ready to lead the line.

There is a sequence in Villarreal’s 3-1 win against Las Palmas last season that highlights Thierno Barry’s promise.

The striker is facing his own goal, midway inside his own half, with a defender right on his back. The two grapple for possession, tumbling to the turf, but Barry is quickest to react, beating his opponent and another covering Las Palmas player to the stray ball.

From there, he races, socks rolled down, to the edge of the penalty area, sending another defender, Alex Suarez, to the turf with a shoulder barge, before calmly setting up Nicolas Pepe for the opener.

It is not always slick, but stopping Barry in these moments feels like an ordeal. His 6ft 5in (196cm) frame, ability in transition and eye for a pass, witnessed in that goal against Las Palmas, mark him out as a unique proposition.

Everton have been aware of the Lyon-born striker since the 2023-24 season, when he was a raw yet promising talent at Swiss side Basel. Now 22, he is still refining his game, but his displays in his sole season with Villarreal in La Liga saw his name move up scouting shortlists. By the second half of the campaign, he had emerged as a regular one to watch alongside Nick Woltemade, Stuttgart’s 23-year-old striker.

The comparison between Barry and Germany international Woltemade is interesting in the sense that they are very different players. Both are tall strikers with an eye for goal, but Barry looks to stretch the opposition’s defence while Woltemade is better in tight spaces, with the ball played to his feet. The question for Everton manager David Moyes and his staff to answer was whether they wanted another striker closer in fit to first-choice Beto or a point of difference.

Barry, who made eight caps for France Under-21s, is not afraid to get physical. Everton ended up plumping for Barry, largely due to his ability to dominate the box and stretch defences.

The club’s internal data showed a player with an elite physical profile who should work well in Moyes’ system, while having a high ceiling in terms of future development.

There is an acceptance on Merseyside that he will require time and patience as he acclimatises, but also a belief that he is ready to share minutes with Beto next season.

Talks took place over the past month and it has taken time to get to the point where Barry is now an Everton player. His Villarreal deal, signed when he joined from Basel for an initial €13.5m (£11.6m; $16m) last summer, contained a hefty release clause of €40m.

Everton started negotiations looking for a significant discount on that number but both parties are likely to see the final figure of €32m plus bonuses as a happy compromise.

There was confusion at times. Towards the end of last week, noises from Spain suggested a deal had been reached between the clubs. The insistence on Merseyside was that progress had been made, but certain details were still to be ironed out.

The fee does not appear to have changed much, if at all, in the intervening period, but the suggestion since has been that the clubs were haggling over the structure of the deal and when certain amounts were paid. Barry cut short his holiday in Miami, after representing France at this summer’s European Under-21 Championship in Switzerland, to travel early this week for a medical on Tuesday and complete a move. In Florida, he had trained with soon-to-be team-mate Carlos Alcaraz and former Everton loanee Jack Harrison.

Everton will be pleased to have finally signed a top target and bolstered their forward line after the departure of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a free agent. They were aware of interest in Barry from England and some Champions League clubs, but they did their groundwork with the player and his camp. Moyes’ sales pitch, where he outlined his interest in working with the Frenchman, helped convince him Everton was the right club.

Now player and club will hope the switch pays dividends.

Not watched any of the YouTube stuff, just want to see with my own eyes.

Hopefully a new hero.

If we did, we'd have to spend on another striker.

I'm just pleased we've got this one over the line.

We can’t do this ‘oh we’ve signed a player, x player has to leave’ stuff.

We need a squad not just 13 players.

Really could do with another CF plus Beto and Barry.

Beto will start v Leeds I'm sure.

May he light up the pitch, the stadium, the league, our hopes and dreams of winning a trophy whilst scoring and contributing plenty of goals and wins.

However, I'm not convinced Barry will start the season as first choice striker. I think the likelihood is Beto is in pole position. He and Chermiti will battle for the second spot.

Having done a little research on him his play is not too dissimilar to Beto. A younger version with maybe a better touch and understanding of the offside rule. Crucially he has a little more time on his side to improve and develop his game.

If he stays fit and plays well he can become our main striker before the season finishes but that will depend on how he adapts and who else we bring in to help create chances and improve our general play.

I still think Chermiti is technically better but injures have blunted his development and chances.

Could all 3 play together, maybe, but I doubt we would risk it, good luck to all!

I spent a total of 7 hours in the car on a round trip to Liverpool on Sunday to go to a Christening stupidly subjecting myself to Talk Sport.

Manchester City this, Arsenal that, Chelsea, Manchester United. Tottenham.

I kid you not, in those 7 hours, not one mention of Everton!!

Maybe I was on one of my calls of nature at the services when they may have mentioned us.