Louie Barry could be Sheffield Wednesday’s next new signing
Louie Barry will always be able to say he trained with Lionel Messi.
Granted, it was only to make up the numbers in a set-piece session, but it is still one to tell his kids and grandads later in life.
In 2019, aged just 16, he became the first English player to join the famous Barcelona academy, La Masia, when he signed from West Brom. Having been at The Baggies since he was six, it was a daunting move. But one he obviously could not turn down. The Spanish club boasted they had signed ‘one of the best young players in English football.’ No pressure, then.
As the scorching sun beamed down, Barry could not help himself from glancing over at the nearby first-team training pitches where the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were strutting their stuff. He had a surreal opportunity to watch and learn from the world’s best every day, which he described as a ‘mad experience’, and one that still has not sunk in years later.
During his time at La Masia, the main focus, unsurprisingly, was possession. Even before training had officially started, they would play keep-ball for one hour. The rules were simple. You had to keep the ball on the floor at all times. If it went up in the air at any point, your punishment was you had to go in the middle and chase after it. As you can imagine with the ridiculous technical ability on show, winning it back was no easy task.
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After six months, Barry decided to return home to his boyhood club Aston Villa for a reported fee of more than £800,000. It was another fantastic opening, perhaps even more of a dream for him. A Covid outbreak at the club’s first-team training ground meant he was handed his senior debut, aged 17, against Liverpool in the FA Cup third round. He took his chance with both hands, racing away to slot home to put Villa in front. With fans unable to attend the game because of the pandemic, his best friends watched it together and wildly jumped around the room in celebration.
His career path is not the norm. After Barcelona and Aston Villa, loans at Swindon Town, MK Dons, Salford City and Stockport County are also on the former England youth international’s CV. His next club could be Sheffield Wednesday, with The Star exclusively revealing this week that he is a strong transfer target.
Middlewood Road is being spruced up but it is no La Masia, and the only similarity between Barcelona and Bromley is the first letter. But after being on the move since his early days at West Brom, a permanent home could be just what he needs.
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