This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Stockport County have made a fine return to League One after 14 years away from the division, thanks to the talent of their Aston Villa loanee Louie Barry.
Barry has eased into life in the third tier, and definitely has a claim to be the player of the season so far, with his goalscoring prowess and superb ability to take games by the scruff of the neck pushing his team up the table.
He is the current League One top scorer, a statistic that seems even more unbelievable when you consider that he plays behind the striker in a free role, and he has shown why he was once on the books of Barcelona.
However, Stockport supporters will be holding their breath in the coming weeks as the January transfer window nears, with Aston Villa having the ability to recall the 21-year-old and send him on loan to a club higher up the pyramid.
Barry urged to stay at Stockport
The attacker has been in supreme form in recent weeks, and he has carried on from where he left off last season after helping the Hatters to promotion from League Two - winning the title in the process.
While he was excellent in 2023/24, few would have foreseen just how strong his impact would have been in League One, but he has excelled in the higher division, and he may have just shown to his parent club that he has the ability to play in the Championship.
Football League World has asked their Stockport Fan Pundit, James Cropper, if he believes that Villa will recall their young star and send him to a second tier club for the rest of the campaign, whether that is permanently or on another loan.
He told FLW: "I do fear that because he's definitely capable and confident enough in his own ability to be able to definitely make the step-up to a top Championship side. I'd say Leeds could probably use a player like him, possibly a Millwall maybe, but that's beside the point.
"But you also have to think how much he must be enjoying playing for County right now, because you see in his celebrations, he does look like he loves the club. The other thing is that he is definitely a big fish in a small pond. He is by far our best player, and it must be very confidence-boosting, and it will be very fun for him to be playing in League One and to be scoring a bucket load of goals, scoring pretty much every single game.
"I just think that he might want to stay at the club, but for his career, the best move would be to move to the Championship. I think he would like to see out the rest of the season. I don’t think he's going to join on for another season after the summer, that's unrealistic, because Villa surely have to say something in him.
"But it's a 50:50 chance whether we keep him, or he goes because let's face it, if he does go to Villa, he won't get any game-time. They’ve got players like Morgan Rogers and Barry is not at that level yet. But, if he gets loaned out to a Championship club, I still think he'd rip it up because he's just got that kind of confidence."
Louie Barry
James continued: "If we do lose him in January, I do fear that there will be quite a large drop-off in our performances because he’s scored virtually half our goals this season and all the goals he scores, he creates by himself. So, I do fear that we've built our team around him, around a loan player, which isn't that great.
"But he is our main attacking outlet, and I do feel like if he did leave, we do still have good attacking players like Tanto Olaofe and Kyle Wooton. Will Collar’s also stepped-up, as has Lewis Bate, but I think there could be a vast drop-off if he does leave.
"So, I do hope he stays the entire season, but for his career’s sake, I think he should move to a Championship club. But, in my humble opinion, he should stay."
Losing Barry would be detrimental to Stockport's season
There is no doubting the impact that the 21-year-old has had in the opening four months of the season, and he has been critical in ensuring that Stockport remain within touching distance of those at the very top of the table.
stockport
His double against Burton Albion in his most recent was a true showing of his talent, taking the ball from distance and dribbling forward into space before firing in a powerful shot that was unstoppable.
He has won games by himself, and his teammates would be the first to admit that without him, they would not be in the position that they currently are. Barry has already completed 39 dribbles in League One in 2024/25, proving his individual capabilities.
Louie Barry Stockport County Stats (FotMob)*
Appearances (Starts)
Minutes Played
Goals (Assists)
xG
Shots (On Target)
Dribbles Completed
Pass Accuracy
Touches (In Opposition Box)
Recoveries
*Stats correct as of 27/11/2024
He is constantly involved in Stockport's play, and acts as the team's talisman. The Aston Villa loanee is playing beyond his years at this moment in time, and if the Hatters do lose him in January, it would not be a surprise to see a drop in performance levels from the rest of the squad.
Keeping hold of Barry is crucial to their play-off ambitions, but they do not hold the key to his future and the Greater Manchester club will have to wait and hope that he remains for the rest of the season.
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