Sheffield United look set to win the race for Aston Villa starlet Louie Barry after entering into advanced talks ahead of a potential season-long loan, according to The Athletic.
The 22-year-old has become one of the hottest young talents in the EFL in recent years thanks to two separate temporary stints with Stockport County. He first helped the Hatters secure the League Two title in 2024 before rejoining the club on a second season-long deal last summer.
The winger took League One by storm, scoring 15 times in 23 appearances before Villa opted to recall the attacker in order to send him to the Championship. A host of clubs were linked with his signature, but Hull City eventually secured the deal on another loan until the end of the campaign. Disaster struck after just four games though when Barry suffered a knee injury, ruling him out of the rest of the season.
Sheffield United Take Advantage Of Hull Situation
The Tigers were keen to bring the former Barcelona youngster back to the MKM Stadium this summer and appeared close to completing the signing on a permanent basis. However, they were then hit with a three-window transfer embargo, effectively ending all hopes of the transfer.
Sheffield United almost immediately emerged as a potential destination, although Scottish champions Celtic were also rumoured to be keen. It now appears as if the Blades will win the race, with reports that they have entered into advanced talks with the player.
This will set up a reunion with Ruben Selles, who was in charge at Hull last season. He replaced Chris Wilder at Bramall Lane last month.
Although Villa had agreed a £3.5 million deal with Hull, his move to Sheffield will be another temporary one. Furthermore, it is claimed that there will be no option to buy clause, meaning he will return to the West Midlands next summer.
Wtiter’s View
Although his time at Hull was disrupted by injury, Ruben Selles clearly saw enough to warrant chasing his signature once again. This will be the biggest move of Barry’s professional career to date and will offer him the opportunity to showcase his abilities at a club expected to be challenging for promotion to the Premier League. If he can translate his League One form to the Championship, the winger could prove pivotal to those ambitions and would stand him in good stead to finally getting his chance to play regular football in one of Europe’s top leagues in a years time. Whether that is with Aston Villa or someone else remains to be seen.
