Thierno Barry to Everton: Everything you need to know about the transfer – TLDR

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Everton have completed the signing of striker Thierno Barry from Spain’s Villarreal for an initial fee of €32million (£27.6m).

Barry, a 22-year-old Frenchman, has signed a four-year contract with his new club, running to the end of June 2029.

As part of this summer’s transfer coverage at The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.

Give me his backstory in 100 words…

After spells in his native France with Toulon and Sochaux, Barry signed his first professional contract with Belgium’s Beveren in 2022. In his one season there, he scored 20 goals in 33 appearances as they narrowly missed out on top-flight promotion, setting up a move to Basel. In his only full campaign in Switzerland, he played 37 games, registering 12 goals and five assists.

Just after the start of the 2024-25 Swiss season — where he got eight more goals in four games — Barry was bought by Villarreal. He featured in 35 of their final 37 La Liga matches, starting 25, and finished as their second-highest league scorer with 11 goals.

Cerys Jones

What should and shouldn’t I expect to see?

At 6ft 5in (195cm), Barry is unsurprisingly strong in aerial duels, making him a good target from set pieces.

The long stride that comes with that height also helps him pull away from defenders — he is a good carrier of the ball and is not easily dispossessed. If he picks up possession in deeper areas, Barry is happy outmuscling opponents and dribbling. Expect to see him shoot frequently, too; he averaged 2.8 shots per 90 minutes in La Liga last season.

However, don’t expect him to bear a big creative burden. His strengths are getting into the box, shooting and scoring — not passing. Barry’s accuracy rate for the latter in the league with Villarreal was only 62 per cent. It’s an aspect of his game he will need to work on at Everton.

Cerys Jones and Steve Madeley

Barry is a good carrier of the ball (Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

How will he fit tactically?

Barry should slot nicely into the direct brand of football Everton used under David Moyes last season after his appointment in January, a way of playing which massively benefited fellow striker Beto.

His aerial prowess, acceleration and strength should ease his transition to the Premier League against more physical defenders, who he will love duelling with, than he’ll have encountered in France, Belgium, Switzerland or Spain. Barry will shoot if given even the smallest of opportunities, having spearheaded a Villarreal attack that was dangerous in transition.

On the flip side, he is still quite raw as a striker, having only turned 22 in October. His passing and link-up play are not the greatest and could be a source of frustration, though these should improve with time.

Anantaajith Raghuraman

What’s his injury record?

Based on Barry’s three professional seasons to date, his injury record is promising. He missed two games in May with a hamstring issue, but returned for the final two matches of Villarreal’s season.

Cerys Jones

Someone who knows him says…

Gunter Vandebroeck, who coached Barry at Beveren, describes him as “focused and goal-oriented”.

“Tactically, he had a lot to improve because he needed freedom to express himself, but he won his place in the team quickly by scoring a lot of goals,” he told Sky Sports. “His positive impact on the team and the results was immediate. His unpredictability was his greatest asset. He could score at the most unexpected moments. He could score the most beautiful goals, but he also scored the ugly ones. A real goalscorer.”

Vandebroeck added: “In his time with us, he complicated things too much. So he needed to improve his vision and decision-making in the final third to make the next steps.”

Cerys Jones

What do we know about the finances of the deal?

Barry has joined Everton on a four-year contract, running to the end of the 2028-29 season. His new club have paid Villarreal €32million, with further unspecified add-ons possible in the future.

Chris Weatherspoon

What impact will this have on both clubs’ PSR calculation?

Assuming agent fees of 10 per cent on the transfer plus a four per cent transfer levy, Barry’s arrival will add around £8million to Everton’s annual amortisation costs, up to the end of 2028-29. His Everton wages are currently unknown but, as ever, will add considerably to the €32million cost of initially signing him.

He only joined Villarreal last August, for a reported €13.5million (£11.6m/$15.8m at the current exchange rates). Less than a year into a five-year contract, assuming agent fees, levies and that no further add-ons crystallised in the past 11 months, Barry’s book value at the Spanish side is a little under £11m.

Villarreal will book any amount over that figure as profit, with some exceptions. Because this is an international transfer, five per cent of the fee is due to clubs which had a hand in Barry’s development between the ages of 12 and 23. Barry is still only 22, so they won’t have to hand over the full five per cent, but we estimate around €1.3million will be shared between Basel, Beveren and four French clubs.

After that, Villarreal’s expected profit on Barry will be around €18.8million, albeit that figure would reduce if Basel included a sell-on clause in last summer’s deal.

(Top photo: Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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