Hull City have been tipped to secure the loan signing of the heavily touted Louie Barry before the end of the transfer window.
There has been a huge scramble for the signature of the 21-year-old this month. He spent the first half of the season at Stockport County, where he hit 15 goals in 23 League One appearances.
This led to parent club Aston Villa exercising the right to cut short the season-long deal, with a temporary move to the Championship viewed as the next step of his development. A host of clubs have been linked with the former Barcelona youngster, including Leeds United, Sunderland, Derby County, Celtic and French side RC Lens.
Emery Confirms Plan
Barry hasn’t played since his last appearance for Stockport last month. Villa have been taking their time in order to secure the best move for the attacker, with manager Unai Emery confirming the plan last week:
“We are very happy with Barry. We have one plan with him and that is to extend his contract because we believe in him and then he must continue his process as a player.
“It is to go on loan and continue getting minutes, getting confidence and getting his success playing at another club. How we worked with him last year and with him now is the right way for him.”
Hull Tipped To Win Race
Hull secured an impressive 3-0 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Friday night to move out of the relegation places. They have done good business this month, including the loan acquisition of Joe Gelhardt from Leeds.
They have now been tipped to follow this up by bringing Barry to the MKM Stadium by talkSPORT pundit Jeff Stelling. Speaking on his show this morning, he said:
“Reading fans were gutted to lose him (Ruben Selles) and now we’re seeing why. They (Hull) have brought a shedload of players in, the likes of Joe Gelhardt. I think Louie Barry is probably going to end up there as well. It has been a (good) turnaround. They are out of the relegation places.”
Writer’s View
Winning the race for Louie Barry would be a huge coup for Hull. Although the 21-year-old has never played in the Championship, he is a player who is widely tipped to have a huge future. The fact that promotion chasers Leeds and Sunderland are interested speaks volumes, as well as Scottish champions Celtic. This could be one piece of business which could secure Hull’s second tier status, as well as letting Barry showcase his talents in a higer division.
