Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Birmingham City’s promotion rivals have been dealt a hammer blow ahead of the New Year.
It was announced on Sunday that the 21-year-old would be returning to the West Midlands following a successful second spell at Edgeley Park. In the four months he's spent in Manchester, he's registered 15 goals and three assists in 22 games, leading the scoring charts in League One.
Barry was on loan at Stockport when they were in League Two last season but suffered an injury which kept him out for several months. Sam Byrne, a football writer on Stockport County understands that Barry will train with the first-team for the first part of next month. Middlesbrough are the front-runners to sign him according to Darren Witcoop, but Derby County has also emerged as a potential destination.
Louie Barry will return to Aston Villa at the beginning of 2025 (Image: Getty Images)Louie Barry will return to Aston Villa at the beginning of 2025 (Image: Getty Images)
Louie Barry will return to Aston Villa at the beginning of 2025 (Image: Getty Images) | Getty Images
Aston Villa’s plan for Louie Barry
Despite only winning promotion last season, Stockport find themselves competing for a second successive promotion, and recalling Barry will have a devastating effect on their hopes. They're fifth in League One this season, six points behind Birmingham City who can go top of the league if they win away at Crawley Town on Monday (December 23).
Barry will return to Villa in the New Year that has been confirmed, but he will be allowed to play against Villa's inter-city rivals when Stockport host Birmingham on New Year's Day. Stockport have Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United on Boxing Day and December 29, so Barry will have two games at least to help Stockport in their quest for promotion.
How Barry’s recall affects Birmingham is that one of their promotion rivals will now be without one of their star players, and will be tasked with replacing him during a difficult month to do transfers. It was suggested in the summer that Blues had considered signing Barry, but now he looks destined for the Championship, with teams chasing promotion to the Premier League looking to add him to their ranks.
Barry signed a three-year contract in January 2020 and signed an extension both in 2023 and this summer. The length of his contract is currently unknown with Villa not disclosing it in their announcement.
Barry’s career to date
Born in Sutton Coldfield, Barry came through the youth ranks of West Brom and was at the Hawthorns for 10-years. He signed with Spanish giants Barcelona and was there for a year with WBA receiving no compensation. His time in Spain only lasted one season and he was signed by Villa in January 2020 for an initial £880,000 which could rise to £3.5m depending on if add-ons were met.
He has so far had six separate loan spells across the third and fourth tiers. His time at Ipswich Town only saw him play six times and so he dropped down a division to play for Swindon Town, netting six goals in 16 games. Barry also got to play for MK Dons and Salford City, before two separate loans with Stockport County. Last season, he got nine goals and four assists in 20 league games for the Hatters, helping them win the League Two title, despite being injured from October to April.
Continue Reading