When Barry signed for Everton last summer, he joined a club intent on building a brighter future.
In the seasons leading up to his arrival, the Toffees had churned through a series of managers, each drawn into relegation scraps.
Everton had also been docked points for breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Taken together, those circumstances meant that when Moyes and his recruitment team mapped out plans for a new striker, they knew they lacked the finances and pulling power to bring in a ready-made star.
So when Barry landed on Merseyside after an 11-goal La Liga season, there was an understanding his progress would be a slow burn.
By mid-season, however, patience among some fans was wearing thin, with the Frenchman having scored just once in 18 Premier League outings.
January proved the turning point: Barry’s campaign suddenly clicked and, by his own benchmark, he produced a strong debut return, finishing on eight goals across 38 Premier League matches.
That tally was all the more noteworthy given that half of those goals came after Everton’s chief creator, Jack Grealish, sustained a season-ending injury in January.
Barry hit peak form in the run-in, even as some team-mates tailed off during the push to secure a European berth for Everton.
He ended the season with eight goals from an xG of 8.1 and a 21.1% shot conversion rate—just below Erling Haaland’s 21.4%.