Stockport County will be praying they can once again recreate the two loan deals they secured for Aston Villa’s Louie Barry in consecutive seasons.
The young forward, formerly of Barcelona’s famed La Masia, had endured a few tricky loan spells on his return to England at the likes of MK Dons and Salford City, but caught fire at Edgeley Park in 2023/24.
Having helped the Hatters to promotion in the first of the season that year, he returned for their League One adventure and kicked on even further, before being recalled by Villa and sent to Hull City.
He’s unlikely to be available to County for a third time, but those at Edgeley Park will dream of recreating his success.
Barry supercharged two seasons for County
Louie Barry
Astoundingly, given the reputation he garnered in SK3, 23 league appearances is the most Barry managed in a single season for County.
The first in League Two – where he managed 20 outings – was stalled by a hamstring injury suffered away at Crewe Alexandra towards the end of 2023, but he still managed nine goals and four assists in that first half of the season, securing vital points on the way to the Hatters’ title win that year.
That jump in level aligned with Barry’s progress in Villa’s eyes, so they agreed another loan deal the next season.
Barry in League One for County, as per WhoScored
Starts (Sub)
Goals
Assists
xG
Dribbles per 90
Key passes per 90
Any fears he wasn’t capable of the step-up were dispelled no more than five minutes into the new season against Cambridge United, when the Villa youngster raced through on goal and netted an audacious chip from outside of the box, earning County’s Goal of the Season award at the end of the campaign.
He went on net 15 goals and provide two assists before the turn of the new year, a level of performance Villa deemed too high for the third tier as they recalled him to place him in the Championship with Hull, where he sadly suffered a season-ending knee injury not long after arriving.
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Stockport will need to find the next Barry following Hull move
Sadly, County are unlikely to make it a hat-trick of loan deals for Barry in 2025/26.
It’s clear from Villa taking him out of Edgeley Park to send him to Hull that they quite rightly view Championship football as the next phase of his development.
With County crashing out of the League One play-offs against Leyton Orient at the end of the 2024/25 season, that’s not a step the Hatters can offer.
But Premier League academies have no shortage of top-class wingers and forwards, so those in Stockport will be confident they can use the same method to find another top talent.
Barry undoubtedly played a crucial role in securing the League Two title and League One play-offs, so the Hatters will know that landing the right player get them over the line in the race for Championship football.
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Barry will have a lasting impact at Edgeley Park
There’s no doubt Barry has left a mark at Edgeley Park and will be spoken about for years to come, whether he ever makes a return or not.
But his impact goes beyond his contributions on the pitch.
Before he arrived at County, he was a talented youngster who had failed to convert that gift into senior football; he left the club one of the Football League’s most discussed players with a multi-million-pound value to his name.
That fact will not have escaped the notice of other elite clubs with top young talents in their ranks, who will be keen to see if they can put their promising charges through the same production line.
County, thanks to Barry, have a strong argument when going into summer negotiations that they are the club for Premier League sides to trust with their best talents.
Barry may not be back at Edgeley Park in person, but his impact could secure the Hatters another dream move in the future.