As bad as Beto: Moyes must drop 5/10 Everton star who “just does not work”
Everton weren’t able to learn all that much from their recent draw in the Premier League against West Ham United.
The central forwards are still misfiring, but there is a new spring in the Toffees’ collective step, and David Moyes’ system continues to show an impressive degree of dynamism.
Against West Ham, there were both winners and losers in Blue. A draw was the result, and Everton shift into ninth place, alongside a huddle of sides on eight points after six games.
Michael Keane continues to stake his claim for a regular starting role in this improving Everton side, while Jack Grealish, even on an ‘off day’, created three chances and looked a focal source of joy from an attacking standpoint. The flow of Moyes’ system runs through the esteemed loanee.
However, we cannot hide from the fact that there were a few who flattered to deceive. In particular, Beto’s woes in front of goal persisted against Nuno Espirito Santo’s Irons, and the Bissau Guinean striker needs to click into gear quickly if he is going to confidently lead the line across the term.
Beto's struggles in front of goal
Manager bounce. A sporting phenomenon that can be defined as a temporary improvement to an ailing team’s performance levels as a direct result of a change in leadership, invigorating the players with a fresh lease of life.
For Everton, this was certainly the case, but then they have also plateaued at a level above that which was being played when Sean Dyche was in the dugout and battling against relegation.
However, for Beto, his post-Dyche purple patch is beginning to look like a flash in the pan. Peripheral across the first half of the 2024/25 season, the 27-year-old scored five goals in four Premier League matches after Moyes’ arrival. He has since scored three times across 18 league fixtures.
Games
42
23
Starts
10
20
Goals
4
8
Assists
0
0
Work is needed, but Thierno Barry, £27m summer signing from Villarreal, has yet to prove that he has what it takes to supersede his positional rival.
Against West Ham, Beto struggled once again, missing a chance to score in the first half, with sports writer Barry Viner even describing the forward as “useless”.
If an upswing in form is not on the horizon, changes will be needed. And Beto isn’t the only one, with another Everton star proving against West Ham that he is not the solution in his current role.
Moyes must ditch Everton star
Moyes has an aptitude for lifting players. He recognises the strengths and qualities inherent in any given star and knows how to apply their preferred style within his tactical system.
And the rise and rise of Jake O’Brien since the beginning of 2025 has been a testament to this argument. The Irishman joined from Lyon for around £16m in July 2024, but he scarcely played until the new year had dawned.
More often than not, he has played as a right-back, moonlighting in a role he probably didn’t envisage when crossing the Channel and heading to Merseyside.
But the 6 foot 6 O’Brien has typified the commitment and willingness needed to succeed in a Moyes team, having played every minute of the Premier League campaign from the right side of the defence.
This needs to change, and the draw against West Ham underlined that, with the Liverpool Echo branding the 24-year-old with a 5/10 match rating after a performance that laid bare his lack of focus and deficiencies when getting forward and contributing toward the attack.
He also left something to be desired from an aerial standpoint. As per Sofascore, O’Brien only won three of his six headed challenges, dribbled past twice and having lost the ball 12 times despite failing to create a single chance.
Iliman Ndiaye is playing in an unnatural right-flanking role this season, so to accommodate Grealish on the left. He’s shown flashes of quality across his five appearances, but then Senegalese talent is being supported by a right-back more naturally suited to the centre-half role.
This is not to say that O’Brien never deserves a starting berth again. He has been dependable and industrious since Moyes arrived at the club. However, not signing a right-back this summer was a confusing decision from the Friedkin Group, especially with Ndiaye playing on the right and thus in need of more support.
Former Everton writer Adam Jones even noted during the game that “O’Brien at right-back just does not work in the long term”, continuing to criticise the “mind-boggling” decision not to sign a natural wideman this summer.
While Moyes intimated during the transfer window that this new Everton project cannot be built in a day, or, more accurately, a single transfer window, there’s a sense that the club have sold themselves short in some areas, and with such promise coursing through the squad, it would be disappointing for a dearth of options in key areas to unravel the hard work plied across the year.
O’Brien is a talented and combative defender who has a long-term place in this Everton squad, but it’s clear that TFG needed to sign a natural right-back this summer, especially with Seamus Coleman at the twilight end of his career and Nathan Patterson embroiled in an interminable battle against injuries.
As the season deepens, it’s becoming clear that Beto might not have what it takes to lead the line for Everton in the long run. Is this the same for O’Brien? It is not.
However, as Moyes’ system continues to develop and modernise, so too must an emphasis be placed on an upgrade on the right.
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