Aston Villa have confirmed that Louie Barry has penned a contract extension ahead of joining Stockport County on loan for the season.
The 21-year-old has emerged as one of the top talents at the club since he joined us in 2020, as he has impressed at youth level and was a key figure in our FA Youth Cup success in 2021.
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A whole host of loan stints have followed as Barry looks to gain experience through regular playing time, while continuing to improve and develop his game by competing at a higher level.
As per the club’s official statement, he’ll return to Stockport on loan this season, having scored nine goals and provided four assists in 22 appearances in his spell with the club last season. An injury ultimately derailed his campaign though after he made a fantastic start, and so this is an opportunity for him to get back to full fitness and regain his top form.
Ultimately, a successful loan stint benefits all concerned, and so it’s hoped that he’s able to rediscover that level of production again, even though it arguably looks relatively clear where this path will eventually end.
While it’s always great to see our Academy products make the step up and make a breakthrough at senior level, such is the level of competition and depth in Unai Emery’s squad, it does look unlikely that Barry will be able to get a look in, even though he did feature for us earlier this summer in pre-season.
In turn, Villa have adopted a smart strategy once again by getting his contract situation sorted out before approving another temporary exit, as if he does impress at Stockport again in the upcoming campaign, it could lead to a club coming in with a tempting bid to prise him away on a permanent basis.
We’ve seen Villa utilise our youth system well over the past two years in terms of selling some of our talented youngsters to make a significant profit and balance our books, and so while Barry will undoubtedly still have aspirations of playing for Villa at the top level eventually, time will tell if that materialises or if this latest loan exit is a step towards establishing himself elsewhere.
