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...
Stoke City are the latest Championship club to be linked with a January move for Aston Villa starlet Louie Barry.
It's understood that Aston Villa are expected to recall Barry from his loan spell with League One side Stockport County in January, in order to send him back out on loan to a Championship side for the second half of the season.
Middlesbrough are reported as being at the front of the queue for his signature, but Stoke City as well as a host of other second tier sides have been credited with an interest in the 21-year-old too.
Therefore, we asked our Potters fan pundit, Sam Harrison, if this would be a good signing for Narcis Pelach's side, and whether competition from some of the Championship's promotion favourites be hard to fend off?
Stoke City urged to pull off "statement signing" of Louie Barry
Louie Barry
Harrison said: "I think it would be very difficult to compete with Middlesbrough and Sheffield United, and your top-end teams in the Championship currently.
"But a player like Louie Barry would be, not a huge signing, but a very big statement by the club saying 'you know what, we're looking at the lower leagues, we're looking at players that are on loan in League's One and Two, and we see that talent'.
"We've seen so many players make the step-up into the Championship, Stoke are looking at that as well and I think that's really encouraging. It would be very tough, but if we can get the deal done, that's huge for us. But obviously, it's going to be very hard to compete with teams like Boro, Sheffield United and others that will be up there.
"I do think that wingers-wise, Stoke do need that quality. We've got Bae Joon-Ho, Lewis Koumas, Million Manhoef who've shown us what they're made of, and we know they've got a lot of talent. But, I think it's one where we need that competition for places, and a player like Barry is going to be a fantastic asset to the side.
"At Stockport he's showing week-in and week-out what he's made of, and he fits into exactly what Narcis Pelach wants. So, I think it would be a huge statement by the club getting him in, and hopefully he can shine.
"I think that step-up isn't going to be an issue for him if I'm being totally honest. So, I think it's just a matter of would we be frontrunners to get his signature, because you look at sides like Sheffield United and Boro who you know have got top managers and are doing well this season, is where Stoke are in the league going to put him off?
"But, I do think a manager like Pelach can definitely attract players like him. It will be interesting to see who he picks, and who are the leaders. I know Boro were up there, so it will be an interesting one. Plus, Stockport isn't too far away from Stoke, so hopefully that helps, obviously Sheffield United and Boro aren't too far away as well. We'll have to see with that one."
Stoke could offer greater guarantee of regular minutes
That could help them seal Barry's signature
Louie Barry for Aston Villa-2
Whilst Middlesbrough and Sheffield United hold more obvious promotion claims than Stoke City do at this point of the season, both of those sides are blessed with an abundance of attacking talent.
As such, competition for regular starting opportunities - which is surely what Barry and Aston Villa would desire when sanctioning a loan move to the Championship - could be fierce, and therefore, perhaps not as beneficial for the young forward.
However, that may not be as much of the case at the bet365 Stadium. Pelach has most commonly deployed a 4-2-3-1 system this season, but has also experimented with a 3-4-3 approach in recent games.
Both of those systems would offer the versatile Barry the chance to carve out a role in a number of positions, as he can operate as a centre-forward, a number 10, and on the flanks.
|Barry's Stockport career stats by position (as of 11/12/24) - per Transfermarkt|
|Position|Appearances|Goals|Assists|
|---|
|Centre-forward|16|11|2|
|Left-winger|11|7|2|
|Attacking midfield|6|5|0|
|Left midfield|2|0|0|
With the Potters struggling for goals outside of Tom Cannon, Barry's superb form in that department for the Hatters would surely see Pelach afford him the opportunity to provide a spark in that regard.
It would also relieve the pressure on the likes of Manhoef and Joon-Ho to consistently be the creative cogs for Stoke, and give Pelach more opportunity to rest and rotate his players.
Therefore, despite the likes of Sheffield United and Middlesbrough perhaps being more attractive propositions league table-wise, a move to the Potteries may just give Barry the best chance at getting regular football in the Championship, and that can only serve to work in Stoke's favour come January.
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