Royal Antwerp technical director Marc Overmars has hinted at regret for not signing Thierno Barry when he had the chance, particularly after watching him sign for Everton in a €35m deal this week.
Gazet van Antwerpen have comments from Overmars today in which he suggests the failure to sign Barry has led to a change in policy at the club.
The striker completed a move to Everton this week, joining in a €35m deal from Villarreal after impressing in his sole year at the Spanish club.
He joined them last summer in a €16m deal from Basel, having only joined the Swiss side in a €3m deal from SK Beveren in 2023.
The Belgian side had secured him the year before on a free transfer from Sochaux B, who had scooped him up after he came through the ranks at SC Touloun.
The 22-year-old has proven to be a hit wherever he’s gone, with 20 goals in 33 games for Beveren, 20 in 41 for Basel and 11 in 37 for Villarreal before his move to Everton this summer.
Now he’s a €35m striker and Overmars hints they may have dropped the ball by not scooping him up when they got the chance.
“It’s not structural, quite the opposite,” he said when asked about trying to sign players from around the world.
“I’m also trying – together with the scouting team – to map out the entire Belgian scene. Two years ago, we asked ourselves: should we take Thierno Barry van Beveren?
“He was playing just around the corner. Yet we didn’t. Other players have left through Belgium. In the future, it will be much more important to look within your own territory than at the whole world.”
