David Moyes reveals Thierno Barry talks and key reason behind early withdrawals - 'My goodness'

David Moyes added more detail to his thoughts on Thierno Barry's slow start to life at Everton following his £27m move from Villarreal

David Moyes has spoken with Thierno Barry about the danger of needless bookings hampering efforts to launch his Everton career. The summer signing is yet to score since his £27m move from Villarreal.

He was given a rare chance from the start against Sunderland on Monday night but was withdrawn early in the second half as the teams fought out a 1-1 draw.

The France youth international had missed a golden opportunity to double Everton’s lead in the first half but struck Jack Grealish’s back-post cross over the bar from close range. It was a miss highlighted by many, including Moyes, as a possible turning point in the game.

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Sunderland battled back after the reprieve and earned a draw through Granit Xhaka’s deflected secon- half strike.

Barry looked disconsolate as he was withdrawn for Beto as the Blues boss sought a threat that could help force the hosts back. Neither has had a sustained run of starts so far this season.

While Moyes has urged his young striker - as well as Beto - to start scoring goals, he suggested it was the booking for a wild lunge that influenced his decision to replace Barry.

Reflecting on that call, and the wider state of having two strikers with just one goal between them in the opening 10 games of the Premier League campaign, Moyes said ahead of the visit of Fulham to Hill Dickinson Stadium: “We are taking them off because they are probably not getting us the goals or the opportunities and we are saying: ‘Well, let’s see if the other one can do it’.

“How many games would be enough? When do you say you’ve him for X amount of games and then you decide.

“I think what we have actually done has got Barry more football than I probably expected early on if I was being honest, but he has lost himself minutes by getting a booking.

“He got a booking at Wolves [in the Carabao Cup defeat, another game he did not finish] and so we weren’t taking the chance at half-time.

“He got a booking in the game against Sunderland and I am saying: ‘My goodness, it only needs him to [do something wrong]’.

“He is still getting to know his own body and getting in control. The slightest thing could happen and I cannot take the risk of him getting sent-off.

“We might have taken the risk with another player, like Jimmy Garner or Idrissa Gana Gueye, we would take a bigger risk with them if they got a yellow card because they are a bit more experienced and a bit more used to it.”

Asked whether his backroom staff had spoken to the 23-year-old about his bookings, the Everton manager added: “It is something we are mentioning, he will feel it himself, we don’t think he is doing badly - at times he is doing okay.

“We need him to score goals whether he is doing good or bad, but we are saying: ‘By the way, if you are getting yourself stupidly booked then you are making it easier for us to make that decision, because we cannot take the risk of going down to 10 men’.”

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