Under past tenures, Everton weren’t exactly known as the most easy-on-the-eye watch.
Indeed, under Sean Dyche, the football was often a struggle to be entertained by, with just 21 goals finding the back of the net under the unpopular 54-year-old’s reign.
Everton-1
Now, however, with the likes of Jack Grealish leading the way under David Moyes, the Premier League side are a far more captivating sight to behold, with several striker options also available to the Scotsman that should see the goals continue to flow.
Moyes’ striker conundrum in 2025/26
There was a drastic change in attack during the off-season.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin didn’t pen a new deal at the club after an injury-ravaged few years on Merseyside, culminating in the long-serving Toffees servant swapping the blue half of Liverpool for Leeds United on a free transfer.
Calvert-Lewin
To fill this huge void, Moyes and Co would swoop in for rising Villarreal star Thierno Barry, with the Frenchman costing a weighty £27.6m to get through the door.
While he is yet to get off the mark for his new Premier League side from his first three league clashes, the hope will be that the “menacing” forward, as he was labelled by U23 scout Antonio Mango, can grow into becoming a lethal finisher on English shores with time.
Indeed, he tallied up a standout 61 goals previously playing in Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland.
After all, Beto would regularly spurn chances towards the start of his up-and-down spell. Now, however, he’s the main man Moyes relies on up top, with two goals already next to his name this season.
Thierno-Barry
Still, it could be deemed a risk to just rely solely on these two attackers to deliver the goods, with a homegrown Barry already up Everton’s sleeve. He’s now potentially ready for senior opportunities to boost their options.
Everton’s “prolific” homegrown Barry
The high-flying Toffees do have a distinguished reputation for unearthing top gems through their academy in attack, with Moyes the manager who first handed Wayne Rooney a senior shot on Merseyside way back in 2002.
He also had a part to play in Ross Barkley’s rise up the ranks to senior stardom, with Omari Benjamin hopeful he can be the next in line for some first-team chances up top, having lit up the youth pitches at Everton for some time now.
Initially scoring goals by the bucket load at Arsenal in the U18 fold – with 18 strikes next to his name from 33 clashes – the 19-year-old Welshman has since made the switch to Everton and been equally as lethal.
Barry would very much be seen in the same clinical light when firing home ten goals in total for the Sochaux B team, with Benjamin even going as far as to be labelled a “prolific” threat by Arsenal youth reporter Jeorge Bird, before settling into life on Merseyside swimmingly.
Benjamin’s for Everton by position
Position
Games
Goals
CF
12
7
LW
4
1
LM
2
0
RM
2
1
RW
1
1
AM
1
0
Sourced by Transfermarkt
As can be seen glancing at the table above, the 19-year-old has slotted into many different roles for the U21s and excelled, with the centre-forward spot his obvious preference overall, as seen in him bagging seven of his ten efforts to date from this position.
However, he can also line up down the left or right wing if needed, much like Barry, who has a sterling record of 14 career goals down either of these flanks.
Moyes might boldly want to insert Benjamin into his first team plans shortly; therefore, with this versatility, a standout attribute of his varied game, away from his red-hot goalscoring ability.
Yet, it could also be seen as a huge gamble to throw another raw and inexperienced striker into the mix, with Barry already very much a work in progress.
Villarreal’s Thierno Barry
The former Villarreal number 15 will just need to shake off that first goal burden sooner rather than later, with Benjamin perhaps offering competition down the line as the revamped Everton attack aims to entertain supporters all season long.
