Everton remain in talks with Villarreal over Thierno Barry, hopeful of reaching a deal

Talks are ongoing between Everton and Villarreal over a move for Thierno Barry.

The Athletic reported in the Transfer DealSheet on June 4 that Barry, 22, was being tracked by Everton, as the club look to bring in a new striker this summer to compete with Beto.

The two clubs are yet to reach an agreement for the French striker, but Everton are hopeful of completing a deal. The Premier League club, however, are not believed to be the only side in the running for Barry.

Everton’s pursuit of Barry is complicated by his participation at the Under-21 European Championship with France, plus a release clause set at €40million (£34.1m).

The club would prefer to negotiate with Villarreal rather than trigger that clause. A bid in excess of €30m (£25.5m) is likely to be needed to tempt the La Liga club into selling.

Everton struggled for goals in 2024-25, with their league tally of 42 the lowest of any of the 17 clubs to avoid relegation.

Barry joined Villarreal on a five-year deal from Swiss club Basel last summer and scored 11 goals across 37 appearances in his debut campaign in Spain.

He spent his youth career across several French clubs before making his breakthrough at Belgian side Beveren in 2022-23, scoring 20 goals in all competitions.

The France youth international moved to Basel in 2023, where he scored 20 times in 41 appearances before joining Villarreal last summer.

Meanwhile, Kenny Tete is yet to make a final decision on where he will play his football next season.

The Dutchman, whose deal with Fulham runs out at the end of the month, has an offer on the table from Everton, who have made progress in talks.

An offer from Fulham also remains on the table though and the prospect of remaining at Craven Cottage has not been discounted by Tete and his camp.

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Proactive Barry took La Liga by storm

Analysis by Thom Harris

Barry is tall, quick, and relentless in his running. Only one player across Europe’s top seven leagues — Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis — has made more runs in behind per 30 minutes of team possession in 2024-25, illustrating Barry’s eagerness to attack whenever his team has the ball.

Barry is strong in the air too — only two La Liga forwards have taken more headed shots than him since he joined from Basel last summer — but there is an element of chaos to the 22-year-old’s all-action game. He often opts for power over accuracy in front of goal, even taking to social media to apologise to playmaker Alex Baena after a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid for not converting all of the chances he slid his way.

When he gets it right, however, Barry is difficult to stop. This thumping volley away at Getafe highlights his ability to hold up the ball, as he scraps with full-back Juan Iglesias and barges past two more in midfield before instantly looking to stretch the defensive line. He gets on the end of Ayoze Perez’s chipped pass and smashes home first time.

Por la jugada. Por la asistencia. Por el remate. Lo de @Barry29Thierno es un golazo 😮‍💨#GetafeVillarreal | #LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/tlLoHD8sPM

— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) April 1, 2025

Barry’s tally of 11 goals in his first La Liga season is strong, the quantity and the variety of chances falling his way a direct result of his head-on approach.

(Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)