Moyes 'wants more' from Barry as Everton boss casts doubt over forward's role

The France youth international suffered a miserable time when he replaced the injured Beto on Sunday, proving unable to hold the ball up or cause problems for Liverpool centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

Barry's introduction coincided with a loss of momentum that ended with the Reds snatching a stoppage time winner.

It was the latest episode in a difficult few weeks for the 23-year-old, one that has seen him lose his place to the in-form Beto and twice booed by home supporters at Hill Dickinson Stadium following social media comments directed at some Everton fans after an incident in the away end at Arsenal that has sparked a police probe.

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Despite Beto being ruled out of the trip to West Ham United, Moyes cautioned against assuming his only other senior forward would take his place when the Blues boss spoke to the media on Friday.

He insisted this was not a reaction to recent events, however, including Barry’s performance from the bench against Liverpool.

Asked whether that display was the reason for questions over his place in the starting XI, Moyes provided a note of sympathy for the player and said: “No, I think sometimes that can happen. You can come in and it doesn't happen.

“He came on in a difficult game, at a difficult time in the game. He was up against two big centre-halves and it was probably a tough gig for him at the time.”

On the wider impact of the forward, a £27m summer signing from Villarreal whose six Premier League goals include a sublime winner at Aston Villa, he added: “He's done a lot of good things for us. We're just saying we want more, we're looking for more.”

Moyes does have other options to deal with the loss of Beto - attacking midfielders Iliman Ndiaye and Tyrique George could play up top - but they are untested.

The Scot will also have issues to contend with at the back upon his latest return to the club he won the Europa Conference League with in 2023.

Centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite’s season ended on a stretcher as he suffered his latest hamstring torment in the final minutes against Liverpool.

While the 23-year-old has a history of hamstring troubles there is genuine hope this setback will not be as serious as the injury that cost him the opening five months of the campaign.

Scans have revealed the issue is in the same hamstring, but in a different area.

Moyes said: “It’s like an hamstring injury that any player can get, and you might be out for six weeks, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less, depending on where it is.

“You can see the shape of him - speed is a big part of his game. When you’re getting to that level there’s a bigger chance of getting hamstring injuries. But we feel for him because he played really well in the game."