Aston Villa are keeping close tabs on Louie Barry on loan at Ipswich Town, and will recall the youngster in the January transfer window if he is still struggling, per Birmingham Live.
Barry moved to Portman Road on a season-long deal in August in search of regular senior game time. The 18-year-old made his first-team breakthrough at Villa Park last season, but could not build on his 90-minutes against Liverpool in the FA Cup over the rest of the term.
Dean Smith is yet to name Barry in any of Aston Villa’s Premier League or EFL Cup squads. His outing against Liverpool also came as the Birmingham outfit named a heavily changed line-up after a coronavirus outbreak. With U23s boss Mark Delaney overseeing the game.
Smith was prepared to keep Barry at Aston Villa this summer, before his late transfer to Ipswich in League One. The Villans did not include their promising young forward on their list of players available for loans at first.
Unfortunately for the teenager, however, chances to impress with the Tractor Boys have been slim so far. Paul Cook has only fielded Barry four times, and overlooked the Aston Villa talent in Ipswich’s last seven league games.
Barry last featured in League One in August, with Cook omitting the Aston Villa talent from his last four squads. He is also yet to score for the third-tier outfit, after netting 13 in 18 Under-23s Villans games last term.
Aston Villa have Plan-B in place for Barry if Ipswich struggles continue
Aston Villa are keeping close tabs on Barry’s situation at Ipswich and will recall the forward in the January transfer window if his struggles continue. The Villans included a recall clause for the mid-season market as part of the Tractor Boys’ deal this summer.
Villa would try to send Barry out on loan in the winter, but to a League Two side, if recalled. The Birmingham club consider it their Plan-B scenario in order for the Sutton Coldfield-born attacker to play week-in, week-out. And fulfil Gareth Barry’s belief in his potential.
“I’ve watched Louie Barry play for England at youth level, he’s got huge potential,” Gareth Barry told talkSPORT in February.
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