Louie Barry must rediscover goalscoring trail to force his way into Aston Villa first-team
Louie Barry will be hoping it’s fourth time lucky at Salford City as the Aston Villa loanee attempts to rediscover his golden touch in front of goal.
The former Barcelona youth player has struggled since graduating from the Bodymoor Heath academy, with loan spells at Ipswich Town and, most recently, MK Dons ending in disappointment over the last two years.
Barry’s potent finishing ability is not up for debate – as proven during his loan spell at Swindon Town, where he netted six goals in 14 appearances – but he needs to hop back on board the goalscoring trail if he wishes to have a realistic chance of first-team football at Villa Park.
Having flown through the ranks at both club and country level as a youngster and following his memorable goal for Aston Villa against Liverpool in the third round of the 2021 FA Cup, there was much chatter about the heights that Barry could reach in the West Midlands.
However, as happens with many young players, Barry has seemingly struggled with the pace and ferocity of the English Football League.
After making just two appearances for Ipswich Town in a 2021/22 loan spell, a temporary stint with MK Dons this season didn’t go as well as first planned either. Barry’s one goal from 22 appearances wasn’t a just representation of the talent he possesses but did pose the question as to whether League One football was a step above his quality at the moment.
Since making a mid-season switch to Salford City in the January transfer window, Barry has impressed without finding the back of the net. In his most recent outing in a 1-1 draw against Barrow, the 19-year-old was named man-of-the-match in a performance that will hopefully help reignite his goalscoring form.
It’s mad to think that Barry is still only a teenager and even madder that he could be playing for his long-term future at Villa Park.
If there’s any lesson that supporters have learned in the early days of Unai Emery’s era at Aston Villa, it is that he doesn’t take any passengers in his first team. You either make the grade or you don’t.
The talent’s there with Barry, but if he fails to reach his lofty potential, Emery will have no qualms about cutting him adrift.
In other Aston Villa news, Villa have been tipped to accept a “big-money” offer for this player in the summer transfer window.