Aston Villa’s Louie Barry is reportedly still a player in demand as there is said to be a number of Championship clubs keen on taking him on loan.
The 22-year-old appeared set for a move to Hull City earlier this month, but that transfer appears to have now fallen through after the Championship outfit encountered financial difficulties.
READ MORE: Interest shown in influential Villa figure but exit talk dismissed
After impressing as he came through our youth ranks which culminated in our FA Youth Cup success in 2021, Barry has enjoyed some productive loan spells to continue his development and improvement at senior level, and according to the Daily Mail, there are a number of clubs in the English second tier keen on signing him on loan for the upcoming campaign, with Sheffield United said to be frontrunners currently.
It remains to be seen if an agreement is reached between the two clubs and with Barry on personal terms, but it’s questionable as to whether or not this is really the best solution for all concerned at this stage of his career.
If the talented youngster isn’t going to make a breakthrough at Villa in the first-team squad, ideally we should move him on permanently this summer to cash in and allow him to thrive elsewhere in a settled environment.
To continuously move around on loan arguably doesn’t help that process, and so time will tell if a proposal comes forward to sign him outright and give him that opportunity.
From a Villa perspective, we’ve seen how effective it can be to utilise that transfer strategy of selling our Academy products to help fund our own moves in the market, and so time will tell if Barry follows a similar path, or if we have to delay his seemingly inevitable permanent exit for another season.
If that does prove to be the case, then it’s important that we find the right landing spot for him to flourish, thus raising his value and increasing the level of interest in him from other clubs, as he still has a contract with Villa until June 2028.
Want more Villa analysis? TalkVilla+ will be launched later this summer. Subscribe below for ad-free exclusive articles, content, podcasts and much more. More details to follow…Up The Villa!