Former Premier League Golden Boot winner Kevin Phillips believes Thierno Barry is thriving on the pressure of being Everton's only recognised centre-forward. The 23-year-old Frenchman has scored five goals for the Blues so far this term, a total he didn't reach until January 26 last season.
Barry's breakthrough after slow start
Barry joined Everton from Villarreal in July 2025 for £27million. It took him 17 matches, 737 minutes and 19 shots to score his first goal for the club, which came in a 3-0 home win over Nottingham Forest on December 6. He also scored in the 3-3 draw against Blackburn Rovers in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Friday.
On transfer deadline day (September 1), both last season's top scorer Beto and Iliman Ndiaye were sold, while the club's attempted £40million move for Folarin Balogun collapsed at the 11th hour when the USA World Cup star refused to sign. These events have left Barry as manager David Moyes' only recognised centre-forward.
Phillips impressed by Barry's development
Phillips, now 53, 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. Speaking courtesy of BestBettingSites.co.uk, he told the ECHO: "Well, Thierno Barry has developed, he certainly has, and he's got the right type of manager to develop under."
"I think him being the main man at Everton now, it's time for him to step up. Look at the players that have left, Ndiaye and Beto went while Balogun walked out at the last minute. He's the number one striker now, so he probably is thriving on that pressure, and he's shown that already with the types of goals he's scored. He's still only young; he's playing at a huge football club and scoring five goals this early on in the season."
"Believe me, that'll do his confidence the world of good. So, he's got a bit of everything and I'm sure the Everton fans are going to see the very best of him this season."
Adapting to the lone striker role
When he was playing, 5ft 7in Phillips was often part of a classic big man/small man strike partnership, operating alongside the likes of Niall Quinn. But while Barry took up a similar role at Villarreal, who played 4-4-2, Everton, like most Premier League teams these days, operate with just one striker.
Phillips believes Barry has the right attributes though and said: "Yeah, well, I think he knows that anyway. That's probably what he'd been brought up with. I was brought up in a 4-4-2; I wouldn't have really known how to play as a lone striker. So, he knows the role; he knows what it requires."
"I think sometimes he chases a lot of lost causes because of that enthusiasm. When you haven't scored as many goals, and you haven't set the world on fire when you first come, you start chasing lost causes, where that probably isn't your job. So, now I think what he has to focus on, now he's got his goals, is just play within the width of the 18-yard box and let the wide players do that work, chase the balls down. When the ball goes wide, get in the box."
"It's as simple as that. That's his job. He's doing that at the moment. So he's certainly got the physical attributes to play that lone striker role."
