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Why Everton have signed Thierno Barry: Pace, potential and the promise of chaos
Why Everton have signed Thierno Barry: Pace, potential and the promise of chaos

New York Times

time09-07-2025

  • Sport
  • New York Times

Why Everton have signed Thierno Barry: Pace, potential and the promise of chaos

There is a sequence in Villarreal's 3-1 win against Las Palmas last season that highlights Thierno Barry's promise. The striker is facing his own goal, midway inside his own half, with a defender right on his back. The two grapple for possession, tumbling to the turf, but Barry is quickest to react, beating his opponent and another covering Las Palmas player to the stray ball. From there, he races, socks rolled down, to the edge of the penalty area, sending another defender, Alex Suarez, to the turf with a shoulder barge, before calmly setting up Nicolas Pepe for the opener. It is not always slick, but stopping Barry in these moments feels like an ordeal. His 6ft 5in (196cm) frame, ability in transition and eye for a pass, witnessed in that goal against Las Palmas, mark him out as a unique proposition. Everton have been aware of the Lyon-born striker since the 2023-24 season, when he was a raw yet promising talent at Swiss side Basel. Now 22, he is still refining his game, but his displays in his sole season with Villarreal in La Liga saw his name move up scouting shortlists. By the second half of the campaign, he had emerged as a regular one to watch alongside Nick Woltemade, Stuttgart's 23-year-old striker. Advertisement The comparison between Barry and Germany international Woltemade is interesting in the sense that they are very different players. Both are tall strikers with an eye for goal, but Barry looks to stretch the opposition's defence while Woltemade is better in tight spaces, with the ball played to his feet. The question for Everton manager David Moyes and his staff to answer was whether they wanted another striker closer in fit to first-choice Beto or a point of difference. Everton ended up plumping for Barry, largely due to his ability to dominate the box and stretch defences. The club's internal data showed a player with an elite physical profile who should work well in Moyes' system, while having a high ceiling in terms of future development. There is an acceptance on Merseyside that he will require time and patience as he acclimatises, but also a belief that he is ready to share minutes with Beto next season. Talks took place over the past month and it has taken time to get to the point where Barry is now an Everton player. His Villarreal deal, signed when he joined from Basel for an initial €13.5m (£11.6m; $16m) last summer, contained a hefty release clause of €40m. Everton started negotiations looking for a significant discount on that number but both parties are likely to see the final figure of €32m plus bonuses as a happy compromise. There was confusion at times. Towards the end of last week, noises from Spain suggested a deal had been reached between the clubs. The insistence on Merseyside was that progress had been made, but certain details were still to be ironed out. The fee does not appear to have changed much, if at all, in the intervening period, but the suggestion since has been that the clubs were haggling over the structure of the deal and when certain amounts were paid. Barry cut short his holiday in Miami, after representing France at this summer's European Under-21 Championship in Switzerland, to travel early this week for a medical on Tuesday and complete a move. In Florida, he had trained with soon-to-be team-mate Carlos Alcaraz and former Everton loanee Jack Harrison. Advertisement Everton will be pleased to have finally signed a top target and bolstered their forward line after the departure of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a free agent. They were aware of interest in Barry from England and some Champions League clubs, but they did their groundwork with the player and his camp. Moyes' sales pitch, where he outlined his interest in working with the Frenchman, helped convince him Everton was the right club. Now player and club will hope the switch pays dividends. Barry's arrival in the Premier League continues his remarkable rise. Like Beto, he has come from an unconventional pathway instead of a traditional youth development setup. In less than three years, he went from the fifth tier of French football, playing for Sochaux's B side, to La Liga. Now he is in England's top flight. So, what exactly can Everton fans expect from the new signing? For his first season in one of Europe's 'big five' leagues, Barry's return of 11 goals and four assists was impressive. But it's how he, as a tall striker and destructive in his movement, could dominate the penalty area and was quick to spot the opportunity to stretch the defensive line that caught the eye. How he approaches the game without the ball will be of particular appeal to Moyes. With help from SkillCorner, we can start to quantify how Barry moves without the ball. Compared to 185 centre-forwards across Europe's top seven leagues, we can see just how direct and forward-thinking he is with his team in possession in the visual below, ranking in the top two per cent among forwards for runs in behind defences, while frequently offering himself ahead of the ball and attacking the penalty area for crosses. He rarely drops off to offer himself for a short pass and is happy to drift out to the flanks if the space to attack is out wide. In that respect, Barry ticks a lot of boxes for Moyes, and while consistency in front of goal can fluctuate, his pace and physical stature often help him to force his way into dangerous areas and carve out chances that other forwards may not. A 2-2 draw with Real Sociedad in April stands out, a game in which Barry took 10 shots on goal. After nine minutes, he chased down a speculative ball into the left corner, drove at the defender before lashing wildly over the bar. Later in the second half, he flung himself at crosses, sent swivelling snapshots just wide of the post, before almost winning it with a towering header in the 97th minute. Advertisement Moyes values crosses and aerial dominance, and in that sense, Barry is a presence in the box. He won nearly two-thirds of the aerial duels he contested in the penalty area last season — of players who competed for 30 or more in Europe's biggest leagues, only Atletico Madrid striker Alexander Sorloth and Everton's central defender James Tarkowski can better that rate. The Frenchman might not always get it right, being prone to an overambitious shot and a dragged finish, but he is one of those likeable, battling strikers who can make something from nothing. He underperformed his expected goals (xG) at Villarreal, as we can see from the shotmap below, but a healthy xG per shot of 0.16 — signalling a high average quality of shooting chance — points to a forward who can barge his way into good areas close to goal. When it all comes together, Barry can be difficult to stop. This thumping volley away to Getafe highlights his ability to hold up the ball, as he scraps with full-back Juan Iglesias and barges past two more in midfield before instantly looking to stretch the defensive line. He gets on the end of Ayoze Perez's chipped pass and smashes home first time. Por la jugada. Por la asistencia. Por el remate. Lo de @Barry29Thierno es un golazo 😮‍💨#GetafeVillarreal | #LaLigaHighlights — Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) April 1, 2025 Barry can often be loose in possession, too enthusiastic to get the ball forward, his concentration waning when it comes to short passes with his back to goal. He is also not the most engaged in defence, attempting few tackles, and one of only two strikers in La Liga who did not make an interception all season. Improving his contribution to link-up play, and increasing his focus with and without the ball, will be high on the list. Yet, importantly, the materials appear to be there, and his sole season in Spain proved to be a success. Patience will be needed, but in Barry, Everton have one of Europe's top striking prospects and someone they hope can grow with them in their first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Florian Wirtz will be Liverpool's record signing – but who is it at your Premier League club? And did it work out?
Florian Wirtz will be Liverpool's record signing – but who is it at your Premier League club? And did it work out?

New York Times

time17-06-2025

  • Sport
  • New York Times

Florian Wirtz will be Liverpool's record signing – but who is it at your Premier League club? And did it work out?

Florian Wirtz is rocking up at Liverpool this summer in what is a club-record deal for the new Premier League champions. The 22-year-old attacker will sign a five-year contract at Anfield and his transfer could be worth up to £116million ($157.7m) to Bayer Leverkusen, the German team he is leaving. Liverpool are paying them an initial £100m, with £16m more potentially due in add-ons. Their previous record buy was Darwin Nunez, who has had a rollercoaster three years on Merseyside and may well be sold in this window. But what about the other 19 Premier League teams? Our reporters run through each club's record buy — who it was, how much he cost, and crucially, how they got on after making those moves. Interestingly, there is not a single defender or goalkeeper on the list… Player: Declan Rice Position: Midfielder Fee: £100m, plus £5m in add-ons Date signed: July 2023 Thankfully, Rice has performed much better than Arsenal's previous record signing, Nicolas Pepe, a winger who cost them £72million in summer 2019. Bought from fellow London-based Premier League side West Ham, the England midfielder has been a standout in both seasons since, helping Arsenal improve as a team and growing individually. Advertisement Rice's two seasons at Arsenal have both seen him record his best numbers for goal involvements in senior football (19 in 2024-25, 16 the year before). He arrived as a dominant force in midfield and has now added layers to his game that make him an even bigger threat than first anticipated. The best example of how he can impact matches came in each leg of Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final win against holders Real Madrid in April. He scored two excellent free-kick goals in the first game at the Emirates, then led them to second-leg victory at the Bernabeu, too. It may be weird to say that a £100million signing has exceeded expectations, but as Arsenal fans like to chant, they feel they got him half-price. Hit or miss? Hit Art de Roché Player: Amadou Onana Position: Midfielder Fee: £50m Date signed: July 2024 Onana, who arrived from Everton last summer, was a player that Unai Emery, the chief and determining decision-maker at Villa, had become a huge fan of — even if he missed out on his first-choice midfield target Conor Gallagher, who moved from Chelsea to Atletico Madrid instead. Quickly and discreetly, a deal was wrapped up for Onana, with Everton needing to sell for PSR (profit and sustainability rules) purposes and Villa striking a close relationship with them for that exact same reason. There had already been two transactions between the teams in that same window — Tim Iroegbunam moving from the Midlands to Merseyside and Lewis Dobbin coming the other way. All three deals helped on the spreadsheets and were mutually beneficial. Onana had a stuttering first season at Villa, largely due to a series of short-term injuries and was unable to break up the first-choice midfield axis of Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara. Hit or miss? Too early to say Jacob Tanswell Player: Evanilson Position: Forward Fee: £31m, plus £8.5m in add-ons Date signed: August 2024 It was just 15 years before signing Evanilson that Bournemouth, bucket and cap in hand, were desperately asking for donations from fans to keep the club alive. The situation was so dire — points deductions in League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and close to dropping to non-League and likely financial oblivion — that their south-coast neighbours, Southampton, helped fundraise. Advertisement Memories of those days made the circumstances surrounding Bournemouth's club-record signing rather remarkable. In Evanilson, a Brazil international striker who pushed to leave Portuguese giants Porto, they had secured their replacement for Dominic Solanke, who moved to Tottenham Hotspur last summer in a £65million deal. The 25-year-old enjoyed a solid first season, scoring 10 league goals, but still has huge room to grow. Hit or miss? Too early to say Jacob Tanswell Player: Igor Thiago Position: Forward Fee: €36.5m, including add-ons Date signed: February 2024 Brentford announced the signing of Igor Thiago from Club Brugge in Belgium shortly after the closure of 2024's winter transfer window, so he did not officially join them until the following summer. The 23-year-old Brazilian is viewed as their long-term replacement for Ivan Toney, who was sold last summer for €40million (£34m/$46.3m at current rates), but his first year in west London was a disaster. That May, he suffered a medial ligament injury in his right knee in what proved his final game for Club Brugge, and then he damaged a knee meniscus in Brentford's pre-season game against AFC Wimbledon two months later. Thiago didn't make his official debut until late November and, within a couple of weeks of doing so, picked up a joint infection in his knee. He only made eight appearances, and started once, in all competitions last season and is yet to score for the club. Brentford still have a lot of hope he will be a success but it has not been a great start. Hit or miss? Too early to say Jay Harris Player: Georginio Rutter Position: Forward Fee: £40m Date signed: August 2024 Brighton broke their transfer record by £10million when they bought Rutter from Championship side Leeds United last summer, and the 23-year-old Frenchman has been worth every penny on the evidence so far. A total of 12 goal contributions in 32 appearances (eight goals and four assists) is only a partial indication of Rutter's impressive impact. He has quickly become a fans' favourite at the Amex Stadium in the No 10 role, combining aggression in and out of possession with a high work rate. Advertisement Rutter was a major miss for the rest of Brighton's season after an ankle injury in the FA Cup quarter-finals defeat to Nottingham Forest in late March. Hit or miss? Hit Andy Naylor Player: Zeki Amdouni Position: Forward Fee: £16m, plus £4m in possible add-ons Date signed: July 2023 Burnley have never been a big spending club in the past, but that changed two years ago when their manager at the time, Vincent Kompany, was given substantial funds to upgrade his Championship-winning squad ahead of the club's return to the Premier League. Often, Burnley go no further than 'undisclosed fee' when announcing deals, making this topic slightly murky but versatile attacker Amdouni signed from Swiss side Basel for an initial fee of around £16million. He was one of the exciting young signings Burnley hoped would blossom in the English top flight but despite appearing in 34 league matches that season — starting 27 — he struggled to adapt and produce consistently, scoring five goals and providing one assist. After Burnley were relegated at the end of that campaign, the now 24-year-old joined Benfica in August on a loan deal for the rest of the season which included an option to buy. He featured primarily from the bench for the Lisbon club, making 24 appearances, scoring seven goals and providing two assists. He has returned to Burnley this summer following their latest Premier League promotion. Hit or miss? Miss Andy Jones Player: Moises Caicedo Position: Midfielder Fee: £100m, plus £15m in add-ons Date signed: August 2023 The most expensive of the series of transfer dealings Chelsea have had with Brighton since 2022, but definitely the best bit of business of the lot. After struggling to cope with the weight of expectation on his shoulders because he was also the most expensive Premier League player (he's now been usurped by Wirtz for that title), Caicedo has established himself as one of the elite midfielders in England's top division. Advertisement The biggest compliment you could pay the 23-year-old Ecuador international is that he has the ability to follow in the big footprints left by Claude Makelele and N'Golo Kante, who excelled in the same position he now plays for Chelsea. To truly belong in their company, he needs to help Chelsea become champions, like they did. Given he has six years left on his contract, he has plenty of time to do that. The level of Caicedo's displays does not seem to get as much credit outside of Chelsea. Head coach Enzo Maresca has no doubts over the talent he is working with, though, saying in April how 'he is one of the best, if not the best, defensive midfielder in the world'. Hit or miss? Hit Simon Johnson Player: Christian Benteke Position: Forward Fee: £27m Date signed: August 2016 Benteke's arrival from Liverpool at the start of the 2016-17 season looked to be good value as he scored 15 Premier League goals in his debut year. But the following two seasons saw him struggle, scoring just four more times in 47 league appearances, albeit injury had played a part. He was resurgent in the 2020-21 campaign, played behind closed doors due to ongoing restrictions on crowds gathering related to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 10 league goals, including a late winner at arch-rivals Brighton & Hove Albion in a smash-and-grab performance by Palace, who had just 26 per cent possession in the game and two goal attempts all night. That, alongside his more impressive hold-up play, earned him a new contract, but he scored just four times in 25 appearances before leaving in summer 2022 to join MLS side D.C. United, where he has enjoyed plenty of success. Hit or miss? Miss Matt Woosnam Player: Gylfi Sigurdsson Position: Midfielder Fee: £45m Date signed: August 2017 The arrival of Sigurdsson from Swansea City was meant to herald the start of a bold new era at Everton under owner Farhad Moshiri. Yet the Iceland international midfielder quickly came to be seen as a symbol of the regime's financial excess and muddled thinking. Advertisement Everton oddly signed three No 10s that summer, with Wayne Rooney and Davy Klaassen also moving at Goodison Park. Unsurprisingly, this strategy did not work. Ronald Koeman began the season as manager and was sacked in the October, and while Sigurdsson played a role under the Dutchman's successors, Sam Allardyce and Marco Silva, he never fully justified his price tag. Sigurdsson was absent from the Everton squad for the year before his contract expired in 2022, something that has never been publicly explained. Hit or miss? Miss Patrick Boyland Player: Emile Smith Rowe Position: Midfielder Fee: £27m, plus £7m in add-ons Date signed: August 2024 He was described as a 'statement signing' for Fulham, but Smith Rowe's impact did not turn out to be quite as emphatic during his debut campaign. Head coach Marco Silva was thrilled when the 24-year-old called time on boyhood club Arsenal and moved across the capital to west London. Almost 12 months, six goals, three assists and 40 appearances later, Silva remained cautiously optimistic that the landmark deal would bear fruit, even if season one had its ups and downs. Five of those six goals came by the middle of February, after which Smith-Rowe's form waned and Silva concluded: 'I would love to see him more consistent.. Next season has to be much better from him.' Hit or miss? Too early to say Greg O'Keeffe Player: Georginio Rutter Position: Forward Fee: £25m-£30m initial fee, rising to £35.5m with possible add-ons Date signed: January 2023 Rutter arrived at Leeds four months before they were relegated from the Premier League. A dogfight at the foot of the table was not the ideal environment for a lightweight, inexperienced, flair player like him. The French forward barely had a kick of the ball before the drop was confirmed. Advertisement He stuck around in the Championship and slowly found his feet under new manager Daniel Farke as a No 10. His finishing always left a lot to be desired, but his creativity, dribbling and vision were virtually unmatched in the second tier. There were hopes he would blossom further into the second tier's best player last season, but Brighton triggered his £40million release clause less than two weeks before the summer window's deadline day. Hit or miss? Miss Beren Cross Player: Darwin Nunez Position: Forward Fee: £64m, plus £21m in potential add-ons Date signed: June 2022 Liverpool agreeing a new club-record fee for Wirtz signalled the imminent end of Nunez's time at the top of the list of their most expensive signings, just as his own time at the club looks to be nearing its conclusion. The hope was that Nunez would be their next star No 9 when he arrived from Benfica in a deal worth up to £85million for the Portuguese side. But his chaotic and inconsistent form means he will surely not hit all of the add-ons agreed even if he stays. In his three years, the Uruguayan international has scored 40 goals and provided 23 assists in 143 appearances. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions but whenever Nunez, who turns 26 next week, looks to be turning a corner, it ends in more frustration. He has all the attributes to be a top striker, but frequently failed to put it all together and was wasteful in front of goal. For his flaws, he was capable of a big moment and his two late goals in the 2-0 away victory against Brentford in January are seen as a key milestone in Liverpool's Premier League-winning season. Hit or miss? Miss Andy Jones Player: Jack Grealish Position: Forward Fee: £100m Date signed: August 2021 Grealish was the star man at his boyhood club Aston Villa before City broke the record for the fee paid on an English player to bring him to the Etihad Stadium almost four years ago. Success is relative. Grealish has made over 150 appearances and helped City win five major trophies but he has not been that dazzling dribbler of his Villa days, who was allowed to roam freely and lifted people out of their seats every time he got the ball. Advertisement Instead, Pep Guardiola moulded him into a different player — a left winger who retains possession and links up in small spaces. It is not as eye-catching but in his best City season, 2022-23, he was an important member of the team that won a continental treble. However, he made only 16 starts in 2024-25, just seven of those in the Premier League, and has been left out of Guardiola's 27-man squad for the ongoing Club World Cup, with his future looking like it lies elsewhere. Hit or miss? A mixed bag Jordan Campbell Player: Paul Pogba Position: Midfielder Fee: £89.3m Date signed: August 2016 Pogba was re-signed (four years after leaving United for a small fee to join Juventus) in a then-world record transfer and unveiled with a glitzy announcement video featuring Stormzy. This was a deal that should have worked. But it didn't. Pogba spent the next six seasons at United, spending pronounced sections of his spell hinting that Real Madrid were his true dream destination. He helped win the League Cup and Europa League and reach two other finals but there were frustrations over his defensive contributions and other inconsistencies. United midfielder and captain turned TV pundit Roy Keane thought Pogba had a mentality issue. Fellow France midfielder Patrick Vieira believed United's wider tactical issues made it hard for him to replicate his international form. Pogba eventually left, on a free, when his contract expired at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, and returned to Juventus. Hit or miss? Miss Carl Anka Player: Alexander Isak Position: Forward Fee: £63m Date signed: August 2022 Isak was a calculated gamble, which is funny to think of now. With Callum Wilson succumbing to injury – not for the first or last time – Newcastle needed a striker going into the 2022-23 season, and they pushed the button on a player all the big clubs knew but were not quite convinced by. Advertisement The Sweden international was doing well at Real Sociedad in Spain but his reputation was one of huge talent balanced by flightiness and inconsistency. Almost three years on, Isak has just become the first Newcastle player to score 20 or more Premier League goals in consecutive seasons. He is someone all the big clubs now lust over. That gamble paid off handsomely. Isak has 'magic in his boots, a striker who glides rather than runs, and a man whose status as a Tyneside icon is now cast in granite.' So wrote Alan Shearer, a man who knows a bit about goals, in The Athletic not too long ago. Hit or miss? Hit George Caulkin Player: Elliot Anderson Position: Midfielder Fee: £35m Date signed: July 2024 At various points in their history, there have been stories to tell and jokes to be made about the player who was Forest's record signing at the time, from Ian Wallace in the 1980s to Joao Carvalho, a £13million purchase from Jorge Mend… sorry, Benfica reserves in 2018. But today that title belongs to Anderson, who, since arriving from Newcastle last summer billed as competition on the wing or at No 10, has established himself as one of the best No 8s in the Premier League. At the time, the transfer felt like an uncomfortable PSR workaround, with third-choice goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos going the other way for £20million. That may well still be at least partly true, but if all balance-sheet juggling acts turn out this well, then Forest fans will gladly welcome more of them. Hit or miss? Hit Nick Miller Player: Didier Ndong Position: Midfielder Fee: £13.8m Date signed: August 2016 The first thing to say is that Sunderland do have a new record signing in the shape of Enzo Le Fee, whose loan move from Roma last season became a permanent £19million deal earlier this month, but in the absence of a story to tell about the French midfielder, we must go back nine years. Advertisement That was the point where Sunderland began to fall off the Premier League cliff-edge, and Ndong was a deadweight to hasten their demise. Just under £14million was spent on the midfielder but within two years, he had been sacked by the club after failing to report for training. League One, the third tier that Sunderland had tumbled to via back-to-back relegations, was seemingly beneath Ndong. Record signings come no worse. Hit or miss? Miss Phil Buckingham Player: Dominic Solanke Position: Forward Fee: £65m Date signed: August 2024 If you only judged Solanke solely on his goalscoring output, you could argue that he underperformed during his first year with Spurs. And the England international did score 'only' 16 times in 45 appearances following last summer's move from Bournemouth, but his influence ran much deeper than that. Solanke had a habit of scoring in big games, including in the second legs of both the quarter-final and semi-final in the Europa League, while he assisted Lucas Bergvall's winner in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final win over Liverpool. He worked tirelessly in every game, even though he was barely afforded any rest due to backup striker Richarlison's persistent injury problems. Solanke joined Spurs to win trophies, which is exactly what he achieved when they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final. The 27-year-old is a fan favourite who should keep improving under new head coach Thomas Frank. Hit or miss? Hit Jay Harris Player: Lucas Paqueta Position: Midfielder Fee: £36.5m, with £14.5m in potential add-ons Date signed: August 2022 When West Ham trumpeted Paqueta's arrival from French side Lyon, they declared the £51million deal as a 'statement of intent'. In his three seasons in east London, the Brazilian midfielder has 14 goals and 18 assists. 'He's playing football like he's dancing on the Copacabana,' then West Ham team-mate Vladimir Coufal told The Athletic in 2023. Advertisement The Brazil international is unplayable on his day but also prone to theatrics. He has struggled with inconsistency in the past 18 months, with an ongoing investigation over alleged betting-rules breaches cited as a factor. But he remains highly thought of by West Ham supporters, largely due to his assist for Jarrod Bowen in the UEFA Conference League victory against Fiorentina. In June 2023, weeks after that match, a picture went viral of a West Ham fan's banner that repurposed the lyrics to the 'Just sold my car, to We Buy Any Car' jingle from the UK auto dealer's TV commercial. Regardless of the verdict over those allegations, Paqueta can take solace knowing his extended family in claret and blue were there for him at his lowest point. Hit or miss? Hit Roshane Thomas Player: Matheus Cunha Position: Forward Fee: £44m Date signed: July 2023 Matheus Cunha took between six and 12 months to find his feet in the Premier League after arriving on an initial loan from Atletico Madrid in January 2023, but once he did, he proved himself to be a match-winner. When he completed his transfer to Manchester United last week, he did so on the back of 29 goals and 13 assists from 82 Premier League appearances, including 15 and six respectively in 33 games in what proved his farewell season. His move to Old Trafford also brought Wolves a transfer profit of £18.5million, meaning that even allowing for his difficult final few months at the club, which included losses of discipline and two suspensions, his signing has to be seen as a success. Hit or miss? Hit Steve Madeley (Top photos of Paul Pogba, left, and Declan Rice: Getty Images)

Ex-pornstar finally speaks on her romance with former Arsenal star
Ex-pornstar finally speaks on her romance with former Arsenal star

Daily Mail​

time17-05-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Daily Mail​

Ex-pornstar finally speaks on her romance with former Arsenal star

Adult film star Teanna Trump has opened up on her relationship with ex-Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe. Trump seemingly confirmed her relationship with the Ivorian after sharing a picture of them together at dinner last December. Pepe - who now plays for Villarreal in Spain - had been married to French social media influencer Fanny B but confirmed that split before being spotted with Trump. Trump has now confirmed that they are living together, following the release of a video she posted showing her doing the laundry. The 29-year-old, in a video posted on Snapchat, joked: 'Crazy how I switched jobs so quick. I was a pornstar, now I'm a maid.' Pepe was first was spotted on a date with Trump last year, sparking rumours that he had split with his long-time partner with whom he shares two children. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Glam Set & Match (@gsm_hq) They have dropped several subtle hints about their budding romance on their social media platforms and went public for the very first time last November. Trump has been pictured wearing a Villarreal shirt and sitting in the VIP section at the club's Estadio de la Ceramica ground. She has also spent time with Pepe's children, and shared photos on her Snapchat, while the player revealed that Trump is also the image on his phone's lock screen. Earlier this year, the couple took delivery of Pepe's new car, a custom-made Audi RS6-R ABT 1 priced at around £142,000, from a dealer based in Cannes. And in February, he wowed her on Valentine's Day by gifting her a Goyard Senat GM pouch, worth around £1,800. Trump entered the adult entertainment industry in 2014 at the age of 18 but now focuses solely on self-made content shared on subscription platform OnlyFans. She claims she hasn't worked with a porn site since March 2020. Social media personality Trump has 1.3million followers on Instagram. Pepe signed for Villarreal last August after a brief spell with Trabzonspor in Turkey. In 2019, he signed for Arsenal in a £72m deal from Lille but failed to live up to his eye-watering price tag before being shipped out by Mikel Arteta on a free transfer. He made 112 appearances for the club, scoring 27 goals and recording 21 assists.

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