Season › 2024-25 › News Everton closing in on Thierno Barry of Villarreal Anjishnu Roy 07/06/2025 25comments | Jump to last Everton are closing in on Villarreal’s 22-year-old striker Thierno Barry and are willing to pay his release clause, reports reliable transfer journalist Matteo Moretto. The Blues have made Barry their number one choice for the striker position after failing to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town. The French forward has made 35 appearances in La Liga this season and scored 11 goals and registered four assists. “Everton is chasing Villarreal striker Thierno Barry,” Moretto wrote on the social media platform X (earlier known as Twitter). “The English club is reportedly willing to pay the €40 million buyout clause. Evaluations are ongoing and no final decision has yet been made.” Born in Lyon, France, Barry was a prolific goal-scorer for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard B and SK Beveren in France and Belgium respectively. He spent a year in Switzerland with FC Basel, scoring 20 goals in 41 appearances before joining the Yellow Submarines in La Liga last season. While there’s certainly a talented player with plenty of potential in there, the amount being mentioned is too steep. The Blues would be better off trying to negotiate a fee a lot lower than the release clause, but with Villarreal qualifying for the Champions League next season, they might be unwilling to sell him for anything less. It remains to be seen how the situation evolves but what can be taken for granted is that Everton’s interest in Thierno Barry is genuine, as confirmed by several reliable outlets over the last few days. Reader Comments (25) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer () Kevin Molloy 1 Posted 07/06/2025 at 19:31:35 I wonder can we have a Goodison News section of ToffeeWeb where this endless shite can be deposited and not bother the front page we rely on for proper information? Gavin Johnson 2 Posted 07/06/2025 at 19:41:14 I'd much prefer the German kid from Stuttgart but have a feeling we'll end up with this lad. Grant Rorrison 3 Posted 07/06/2025 at 19:50:57 If he played for Villarreal in 2005 we'd have got in the Champions League. No thanks. What about Castellanos at Lazio? Paul Hewitt 4 Posted 07/06/2025 at 20:08:17 Grant@3. He'd have only been 2, so yes we probably would have won. Grant Rorrison 5 Posted 07/06/2025 at 20:16:19 All round game looks like that of a 2 year old still. Conor McCourt 6 Posted 07/06/2025 at 20:18:32 I hope this is true from what I've seen of him. He came on in the second half against Barcelona in the Camp Nou the other week and terrorised them helping them to a 3-2 win and qualifying for the Champions League.He is the next big French striking sensation after Ekitike and he seems to score all sorts of goals. I would much prefer him than Delap as he looks to have a much higher ceiling to me.The last Barry we signed didn't do too badly for us. Paul Kossoff 7 Posted 07/06/2025 at 20:35:24 Let me see, that's um, four strikers we will have. Beto, Chermiti, DLC, and Barry. Shame that 3 of them are not very good, and that's obvious because we will end up with four strikers, um, 3 not very good. I think this is where I came in. Si Pulford 8 Posted 07/06/2025 at 20:41:47 These News Now AI articles are killing ToffeeWeb. Svein-Roger Jensen 9 Posted 07/06/2025 at 20:43:38 Thierno Barry brings a unique combination of physical dominance and silky skills to Villarreal. His ability to disrupt defences and score opportunities is clear, but refining his decision-making and passing precision will need to sharpen up as he continues to adapt to the demands of the Spanish top-flight. Considering these improvements, he is still young and has the potential to become one of La Liga's top strikers. Paul Kossoff 10 Posted 07/06/2025 at 20:45:28 Apparently Aston Villa are after him, especially if Watkins goes. He's had one season in La Liga, is he tried and tested? Is he the answer to our THREE not very good strikers?Supposedly his hold up play and passing needs working on… where have I heard that before? Derek Knox 11 Posted 07/06/2025 at 21:10:48 Is he any relation to Gareth Barry ? :-)If so or not, if he is anywhere near as good (different position I know) we will do well. I would prefer the German lad though if it down to choice. Robert Tressell 12 Posted 07/06/2025 at 21:31:23 He's quite similar to Beto. Might well develop and get better than Beto, but he doesn't look a superior player at the moment. With Villareal having qualified for the Champions League, we'd be buying at a premium price too. He only cost €14.00m last summer, so €40.00m is good business for them.Not a massive fee for a striker - much the same as Brentford and Bournemouth paid for Thiago and Evanilson last summer - but obviously a big chunk of our transfer kitty.Paul # 7, there isn't really a player on the market who fits the description for us. The real quality strikers who might move this summer are:EkitikeGyokeresSeskoOsimhenNone of these players would consider joining Everton, although we could have bought them at different stages of their careers. Annika Herbert 13 Posted 07/06/2025 at 21:35:37 How can you say 3 not very good strikers Paul? We have hardly seen enough of Chermiti to be making those kind of judgments Gavin Johnson 14 Posted 07/06/2025 at 21:35:45 You forgot Jonathan David, Robert. Robert Tressell 15 Posted 07/06/2025 at 21:59:17 I scrubbed him off the list Gavin - along with Ramos, Kean and Tel. He might get a really big move this summer - but possibly because he's free more than anything else. Rob Halligan 16 Posted 07/06/2025 at 22:01:51 Robert # 12……..€40M would be a large chunk of our transfer kitty, if it had to be paid in one payment, but wouldn’t we only pay so much per year, depending on the length of contract Barry would sign? So he signs a five year contract, wouldn’t we only pay €8M per year to Villarreal? Robert Tressell 17 Posted 07/06/2025 at 22:10:59 You are right, Rob, it isn't all paid out in one chunk - but however you cut it, we are unlikely to spend (or commit to spend) more than £100m this summer. If we get Barry, that would mean:Barry - c. £37mAlcaraz - £13m (ish)Remainder - £50mThat £50m will have to stretch a long way to cover all the departures and improve the quality / depth. We can pick up some frees and loans - but it's still a big challenge. Conor McCourt 18 Posted 07/06/2025 at 22:21:13 Robert Beto?? Really??This kid is the total opposite to Beto. He is a natural finisher and scores left foot, right foot, headers and poachers goals.His movement in the box is excellent and he's a really sharp, elastic type of striker.In terms of minutes played he's better than a 1 in 2 every where he's been and he's still only a kid. Beto is 27 and scored more than 13 goals once in his career.I couldn't think of 2 more dissimilar strikers Gavin Johnson 19 Posted 07/06/2025 at 22:22:41 I would hope our spend is more than £100m because we will buy players on instalments, which is the norm for most transfers these days. Paul Kossoff 20 Posted 07/06/2025 at 22:24:39 Annika23. "We have hardly seen enough of Chermiti"Um, exactly!! Because??? He's Not good enough!! Les Moorcroft 21 Posted 07/06/2025 at 22:26:36 Is it our money as fans? Yes I understand we can only spend some much. Be we are not prefe to the full deal. So to an extent leave it to the people who get paid professionally to sort it. Ian Bennett 22 Posted 07/06/2025 at 22:49:27 Id be hoping for 3 to 4 perm signings, some loans and a couple of frees.The squad is thin, plus we have another load out of contract next summer if options aren't exercised. Robert Tressell 23 Posted 07/06/2025 at 22:58:27 I’ve not seen anyone on here predict we’ll go beyond a £100m net spend this summer but who knows. You might be right Gavin. Conor, yes, Beto. If we do sign him, hopefully he kicks on. Ian Jones 24 Posted 07/06/2025 at 23:12:13 Paul, to be fair to Chermiti, he missed a fair amount of last season injured...it's hard to judge him Ben King 25 Posted 07/06/2025 at 23:14:42 Lee #21That didn’t work out too well last time though did it?(Appreciate it was under a different administration but once bitten….) 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