Louie Barry has left Aston Villa in favour of a move to Sheffield United, having previously been linked with Celticplaceholder image
Louie Barry has left Aston Villa in favour of a move to Sheffield United, having previously been linked with Celtic | Getty Images
Aston Villa have a big decision to make regarding the future of the player ahead of January
Aston Villa have the opportunity to freshen up their ranks when the January transfer window opens up for business. They have the chance to bring in some new faces to bolster their squad. The Midlands club will also be able to sell some players if needed.
Unai Emery’s side find themselves positioned in 6th place in the table and are only outside the top four by a point. They won 4-0 at home to AFC Bournemouth in their last game before the international break. Next up is an away trip to Leeds United next weekend as they aim to keep their momentum going.
Aston Villa should recall Louie Barry from Sheffield United
Aston Villa gave Louie Barry the green light to join Sheffield United on loan in the summer. He was due to join Hull City on a permanent basis for a deal worth £3.5million. However, that move collapsed after the Tigers were hit with a transfer restriction and that opened the door for the Blades to swoop in instead.
Barry, 22, is due to spend the whole campaign at Bramall Lane. However, he has struggled to make an impact in South Yorkshire and hasn’t scored in nine games. He is finding it hard to get into Chris Wilder’s team and his future is up in the air this winter.
The Blades have also snapped up former Leeds United man Patrick Bamford on a free transfer which pushes Barry even further down the pecking order now.
Aston Villa should look at recalling him and sending him somewhere else. There is no point him staying with Sheffield United if he isn’t going to play. The ex-England youth international is at the stage of his career now where he needs to be playing every week to boost his development.
Barry joined his parent club back in 2020 after spells at West Brom and Barcelona. He has since played once for their first-team in a Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool. The Sutton Coldfield-born man has also been loaned out to Ipswich Town, Swindon Town, MK Dons, Salford City, Stockport County and Hull to get experience under his belt.
Where next for Aston Villa’s Louie Barry?
Barry was a real hit at Stockport County and had two separate spells with the Hatters. He scored 25 goals in 46 matches combined for the ambitious North West outfit under the guidance of Dave Challinor. They would no doubt love to have him back at Edgeley Park but Aston Villa may have reservations about sending him back down to League One at this stage. If they go up though, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them go back in for him.
A return to Hull is unlikely now as well. The Tigers were on the brink of landing him permanently earlier this year but seem to have moved on. In addition, they can’t spend transfer or loan fees for the next two windows. They are flying high in the second tier under Sergej Jakirovic and are in the play-offs along with Stoke City, Preston North End and Millwall and have other options in his position like the in-form Joe Gelhardt.
Teams lower down the Championship may be alerted to Barry’s potential availability. He wouldn’t be short of suitors and proved at Stockport that he is a promising talent. Sheffield United just hasn’t been the right fit for him and the change of manager from Ruben Selles to Wilder back in September didn’t do him any favours either.
Continue Reading