The end of Barry & Beto: Everton offered chance to sign new striker for £40m
Thierno Barry and Beto scored in the same game for Everton for the first time in the club’s 4-2 loss to Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday.
The French striker scored his third Premier League goal of the season, having started the match, whilst Beto came off the bench to score just his second goal of the campaign.
Five goals between the two forwards is a disappointing return, particularly given that the Toffees spent £27m on Barry and £26m on Beto to bolster their front line.
David Moyes is not getting consistent quality out of his two main centre-forward options, despite a combined £53m cost, and that is a cause for concern moving forward.
Everton offered chance to sign new striker
The Toffees could permanently bench both of them from the starting line-up, though, by adding another option in that position to their squad this month.
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According to TEAMtalk, Everton are one of a number of Premier League sides in the race to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-forward Jorgen Strand Larsen.
The report claims that Wolves are ready to cash in on the Norway international in the January transfer window, as they are heading toward relegation and are wary that he will lose value if they go down.
It adds that the Toffees, Newcastle United, Spurs, Crystal Palace, and Fulham have all been contacted to be told that he is available to be bought this month, which means that they have been offered the chance to sign him.
TEAMtalk also reveals that the relegation-threatened side want a fee of around £40m in order to sell the Norwegian number nine, despite rejecting an offer of almost £60m in the summer from Newcastle.
How Strand Larsen could be the end of Beto and Barry
Strand Larsen may not seem like an attractive target for Everton given that he has scored one goal in 18 Premier League matches, but he is playing for a team that has racked up six points and won one game this season.
His statistics in previous seasons suggest that his current struggles are mainly down to the team around him, given the drop-off has happened alongside the team’s horrendous form, which means that there is now an opportunity for the Toffees to take advantage of.
The 25-year-old marksman scored an eye-catching 14 goals from 10.27 xG in his first Premier League season with Wolves in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore. This shows that he is capable of delivering goals on a regular basis in the top-flight.
Only nine players scored more goals than him in the division last term, per Sofascore, whilst Beto scored eight goals in 30 appearances for the Toffees last term. In fact, Beto and Barry have never scored more than 11 goals in a single league campaign in either of their careers.
This suggests that Everton should not be expecting them to improve too much on their current struggles, as they are yet to prove that they can be prolific scorers at any level, let alone in the Premier League.
Strand Larsen
23/24 LaLiga
24/25 PL
Appearances
36
35
xG
14.55
10.27
Goals
13
14
Minutes per goal
222
187
Big chances created
5
6
Assists
3
4
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Strand Larsen’s form for Celta Vigo and Wolves in the last two full seasons shows that he can offer a greater threat in front of goal than both of them.
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The Norway international, despite his struggles in a dismal Wolves team this season, does have the quality to score goals on a regular basis in major European leagues, which suggests that he could be a good signing for Everton this month.
Strand Larsen, who was described as a “proper no.9” by analyst Ben Mattinson, also delivered seven assists in those two seasons, whilst Beto and Barry have assisted five goals in all competitions between them since the start of the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore.
Overall, the £40m-rated star’s experience and Premier League-proven record suggest that he could be the end of both Barry and Beto as starters for Everton, as he has the potential to come in and be the main man for Moyes.
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Therefore, the club should push to win the race for his signature before the end of the January transfer window, in the hope that they can get him back to his best in the top-flight.