Former Premier League Golden Boot winner Kevin Phillips has backed Everton striker Thierno Barry to reach double figures this season, despite the forward missing more big chances than any other player in the Premier League so far this term.
Barry scored his sixth goal of the campaign in all competitions on Sunday, netting in the 2-2 draw at Hull City. That strike was his third in six Premier League appearances in 2026/27. Before that goal, he had missed a golden opportunity when a low cross from Jarrad Branthwaite got caught between his feet.
Miss of the season and a magnificent response
Ian Whittell of The Times, reporting on the game at the MKM Stadium, said the miss had "already settled the Premier League's miss-of-the-season competition," but then hailed the Frenchman's subsequent strike as "magnificent."
Barry is the only recognised centre-forward in David Moyes' squad of just 18 outfield players, which also includes solitary options in both full-back berths.
Confidence from a proven scorer
The £27million signing from Villarreal in July 2025 took 17 matches to break his duck last season but has now hit the net half a dozen times in all competitions in the current campaign. That is a tally he did not reach until February 28 last time out, when he finished the season on eight goals.
Speaking courtesy of BestBettingSites.co.uk, Phillips, who scored 92 Premier League goals including 30 in his debut season with Sunderland in 1999/2000 under the management of Goodison Park legend Peter Reid, which earned him the Golden Boot, said: "You'd like to think Barry can get in and around double figures for sure.
"Whether he can get to the 20-mark, that's a big ask. The encouraging thing is he's getting in the positions; he's getting the opportunities.
"He probably should have had a few more goals than what he's already got. But for me, if I were the manager, I'd be telling him to keep doing what he's doing and keep getting in those positions, and the goals will come.
"So, it's very promising. In training, I'm pretty sure he's doing his repetitive stuff, and it will pay off. So just keep doing what he's doing.
"I'd be far more worried and concerned if he wasn't getting in those positions. So, there's a lot of promising and positive stuff to come out of that."
