Everton Round-Up, Monday 2nd November: Barry Taps in as Toffees Push for Win at Newcastle
Everton were back in Premier League action tonight, making the short trip to the North East to face Newcastle United at St James' Park for the second time in five days, having knocked the Magpies out of the Carabao Cup at Hill Dickinson Stadium last Thursday (Royal Blue Mersey) (Liverpool Echo). David Moyes named his starting XI for the Monday Night Football clash, with team news confirmed across several outlets ahead of kick-off (Liverpool Echo) (Sports Mole) (EvertonFC.com) (ToffeeWeb). Royal Blue Mersey's live coverage described a cagey first half in which Everton created a few decent chances but were let down by their finishing, with the sides locked at 0-0 at the break (Royal Blue Mersey). The breakthrough duly arrived after the hour, with the same outlet's live blog reporting Barry tapping in to put Everton ahead following a scramble from a corner, as Newcastle continued to probe through efforts from Schar (Royal Blue Mersey). Read Everton had earlier pointed out just how much was riding on the game, with places in the table in the balance for both sides (Read Everton).
Jack Grealish was once again a notable absentee from the matchday squad. ESPN reported he was left out for a second successive game due to not being "match fit" (ESPN), while the Guardian and Liverpool Echo both detailed that the playmaker has now missed three games in a row after being dropped for Thursday's Carabao Cup win following a breach of club discipline, with Grealish left on Merseyside to work on his fitness rather than travelling (The Guardian) (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool Echo).
There was a happier story from that cup victory, with Liverpool Echo reporting on Hayden Hackney, who was on target as Everton beat Newcastle 3-1 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and who spoke about his extra motivation for facing the Magpies (Liverpool Echo). James Garner also gave an honest assessment of his season after returning from summer surgery, while offering a fresh verdict on team-mate Thierno Barry's progress (Liverpool Echo). Royal Blue Mersey's Monday round-up touched on Garner's hopes for a cup run, alongside the latest on Jarrad Branthwaite (Royal Blue Mersey).
On the transfer front, TeamTalk reported that a surprise link between Everton and a Tottenham forward has been played down, with the focus instead said to be on alternative striker targets including Dinamo Zagreb's Dion Beljo and a Rennes forward (TeamTalk). Separately, TeamTalk and Read Everton both reported that Everton are said to be leading the race for Minnesota United's Kelvin Yeboah, a forward whose uncle is described as a Premier League icon, in a deal that could cost around £6m (TeamTalk) (Read Everton). Conor Gallagher's name has also been linked again, with Royal Blue Mersey including him in their daily round-up and Read Everton examining whether Everton genuinely want to sign him from Tottenham, amid wider questions over the club's ownership situation potentially complicating business (Royal Blue Mersey) (Read Everton).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
