Everton are on a real high right now with back-to-back wins, but David Moyes needs to heed one warning sign showing in recent games.

Monday night saw Everton beat Newcastle 1-0 up in the North East, meaning David Moyes has completed the double over Matthias Jaissle in the space of five days.

David Moyes needs to give Braiden Graham a chance

This season has seen Barry evolve into a really good striker, with his 10 goal contributions in 12 games showcasing just how strong he has become, even if there are worries over his finishing.

But the main problem Everton has with Barry is that he is all alone as a striker right now. James Tarkowski has said that Barry works so hard, and he is always involved in physical battles, given the kind of striker he is.

The toll of this appears to be catching up with Barry, as in both games against Newcastle, he has appeared to take a knock and hasn’t been moving all that well. Particularly at St. James’ Park, he took some hard tackles, and it feels like Everton are running the risk of losing Barry.

It would be inevitable to see him injured at the rate he is being relied upon and involved in big tackles. This means Everton need to avoid overusing him, and Braiden Graham is the answer to Moyes’ problems.

Much has been made of Everton not having any second striker depth, with Beto sold before a replacement was signed. But Graham represents a potential opportunity for Everton to take some of the load off Barry before January, and a likely signing arrives.

Braiden Graham is banging on the first-team door for Everton

Graham has yet to play for Everton’s first team this season, but he is right on the cusp, and his performances for the U21s have made it clear he should be getting opportunities to help Barry.

• EFL Trophy – 2 games, 2 goals, 1 assist
• PL International Cup – 2 games, 1 goal, 1 assist
• PL2 – 2 games, 1 goal, 1 assist

It is clear that Graham is too good now to be playing academy football, and so Moyes should be looking to give him chances in the first team for his development. But also to protect Barry ahead of the busiest period of the season.

January might bring a loan move for Graham, but until then, he has an important role. Moyes can’t continue to overlook him when he has so much to offer the Toffees and could avoid the disaster that could be an injury for Barry.

He would, at the very least, be a better option than playing Brennan Johnson up front.