Aston Villa: Louie Barry delivers timely reminder to Unai Emery with man-of-the-match display for Salford City
Louie Barry continued his ever-improving form while on loan at Salford City with a goal and a man-of-the-match display against Hartlepool – but whether this has come too late to secure a long-term Aston Villa future is up for debate.
The 19-year-old striker became the first Englishman in history to join Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, but quickly found himself back in the West Midlands donning the claret and blue colours he had grown up supporting after never settling into life with the Spanish giants.
After rising the ranks at the Bodymoor Heath academy to great success, his loan spells that have followed in the English Football League have been somewhat underwhelming.
The Englishman struggled to impact proceedings during temporary stints at Ipswich, Swindon and MK Dons – netting just seven goals in total for the three clubs – but he now finally seems to be finding his feet at the Class of ’92’s Salford City.
Since joining, Barry has featured in all 16 League Two games, netting two goals and providing one assist.
The former Barcelona player is unlikely to feature under Unai Emery next season, but with the club also set to make a string of ruthless calls on a number of the academy’s brightest talents in the near future, it remains unclear whether Barry will be placed on this list. [The Athletic]
During his 72-minute showing in the 2-0 win against Hartlepool on Tuesday (18 April), Barry displayed his rising confidence with a well-taken goal which doubled his team’s lead after half an hour.
The Villa academy graduate was unsurprisingly awarded man-of-the-match for his brilliant individual display, with Birmingham Live’s Ashley Preece gushing over the youngster’s performance.
When comparing Barry’s stints at Salford and earlier this season at MK Dons, there is a distinct improvement in the striker’s numbers.
The 19-year-old is having more shots on goal per game than he was at MK Dons (1.4 v 0.8), while also completing more dribbles (2.2 v 0.8) and more key passes per appearance (0.9 v 0.8). [WhoScored]
Barry has clearly started to rediscover the form that earned him a move to the infamous La Masia academy, but Emery may decide that this has come too little too late for a permanent Aston Villa future.
In other Aston Villa news, the club might have found the heir to James Milner after what Unai Emery did against Newcastle.