Villarreal have been excellent in doing transfer business in recent years, and that trend will be continuing in 2025. Having sold homegrown talent Alex Baena to Atletico Madrid in a deal worth €55m, they are about to bring in more funds via the sale of Thierno Barry.
Last summer, Villarreal signed Barry from FC Basel in a deal worth an estimated €12m. He featured 37 times across all competitions last season, managing 11 goals and four assists – all of which came in his 35 La Liga appearances. And as it turns out, this will be his one and only season at La Ceramica.
Premier League side Everton have been chasing Barry for weeks, and after several rounds of talks, it has now been reported by Fabrizio Romano that a deal has been struck.
Everton have agreed to pay €35m plus add-ons for Barry, just below his €40m release clause. Villarreal had been reluctant to sell due to rating the 22-year-old very highly, but the fee on offer has proven to be too good to turn down.
The sales of Baena and Barry will bring in €90m to Villarreal. Approximately €15m of that has already been spent on replacing the former with Alberto Moleiro, and now the Yellow Submarine must begin their search for a new number nine.
Villarreal have arguably been the best team in Spain at doing transfer business in recent weeks. Baena and Barry will be added to big-money sales of Filip Jorgensen, Pau Torres, Samuel Chukwueze and Nicolas Jackson, and despite makes these sales, Marcelino Garcia Toral’s side still managed to qualify for next season’s Champions League. As such, you’d back them to replace Barry effectively.
