That contrast is allowing Barry to develop in a way that has already caught Wiegman’s eye, and she’s not the only promising England youngster making the switch across the pond. Denton is a team-mate at Bay FC, U20 international Princess Ademiluyi swapped West Ham for Gotham last year andArsenal midfielder Laila Harbert is being heavily linked with a move to the San Diego Wave, after time on loan with the Portland Thorns last season.
With the Arsenal pair of Vivienne Lia and Cecily Wellesley-Smith also currently out in Sweden on loan, questions have been raised about whether the WSL is giving young, homegrown players the opportunities it should. Indeed, among Europe's top five leagues and the NWSL, no division gave a lower percentage of minutes to homegrown players under the age of 23 in the 2025-26 season.
Barry can’t speak to that too much. “My journey wasn't exactly as simple as, say, another young person," she says, noting that her two significant ankle injuries meant she "couldn’t possibly play" when trying to breakthrough at United.
What she can speak to, though, is the opportunities in the NWSL. Among the game's top six leagues, it ranks highest for the average minutes given to teenagers and second for U23s, only behind Spain's Liga F.
"It’s a great league," Barry says. "You have freedom to explode and be the type of player that you want to be."
Barry has certainly done that in her first few weeks in the United States. Keep that up, and any further calls from Wiegman won’t be quite as surprising.