Louie Barry ‘returns to Aston Villa’ after Hull City loan twist
Louie Barry’s loan move from Aston Villa to Championship side Hull City last month hasn’t quite worked out as planned.
Villa recalled Barry from his impressive half-season spell at Stockport County in December after he scored 16 goals in 24 appearances for the League One side, with a view to him playing at a higher level.
That higher level came in the form of Hull‘s ultimately successful bid to loan Barry to the MKM Stadium for the second half of the campaign, with the Tigers sat 21st and in a Championship relegation battle.
Having been the fulcrum of Stockport’s push towards the upper reaches of League One, Barry has been used slightly more sparingly in East Yorkshire, making four appearances in total with two starts.
Louie Barry heading back to Aston Villa after Hull City injury
Barry hasn’t hit the ground running since his move to Hull, failing to register a goal or assist for the Tigers in their fight to stay out of the Championship’s bottom three, and now won’t get a chance to either.
The Yorkshire Post report on 26 February that in the aftermath of Hull’s 1-0 defeat to Cardiff on Tuesday, Barry has picked up a knee injury and is set for a spell on the sidelines, returning to Villa Park as a result.
The 21-year-old is therefore heading back to Bodymoor Heath to undergo his rehabilitation process in an unexpected twist, although Hull are hopeful that Barry could be back fit before the Championship season ends in early May.
Barry blow could damage Aston Villa transfer plans
Barry heading back to Villa Park just weeks after his fanfare-filled departure will be a huge disappointed for both the player and both clubs involved, with Hull having secured a huge coup to sign the youngster.
Half the Championship – including teams at both the top and bottom of the division – had their eyes on signing Barry after his exploits across a season and a half at Stockport, yet the lowly Tigers won out.
| Loan Club | Season | Appearances | Goals |
| Ipswich Town | 2021/22 | 6 | 0 |
| Swindon Town | 2021/22 | 16 | 6 |
| MK Dons | 2022/23 | 32 | 1 |
| Salford City | 2022/23 | 21 | 2 |
| Stockport County | 2023/24 | 23 | 9 |
| Stockport County | 2024/25 | 24 | 16 |
| Hull City | 2024/25 | 4 | 0 |
At the time of signing Barry on 29 January, Hull were exactly where they are now, teetering above the relegation zone, yet bringing in the highly-rated Villa attacker hasn’t helped to life them out the mire.
The Villans had hoped that wherever he played for the second half of the season, Barry’s trajectory would continue to an extent that his transfer value increased exponentially ahead of the summer window.
With the Villa hierarchy doing all they can to avoid the PSR concerns which have affected them this season, it appears that Barry now won’t quite be the big-money, sought-after asset they were expecting.