Louie Barry has come on leaps and bounds since joining Swindon Town on loan from Premier League giants Aston Villa, manager Ben Garner tells the Robins’ website.
On the second of February, 2022, it felt only right that Louie Barry marked a day full of twos with two of his own.
A brilliant solo goal lashed home with his left foot followed by a coolly taken second with his right, the former Barcelona starlet tripled his tally of league goals on Tuesday night as Swindon put struggling Walsall to the sword.
The step up from academy football to the hustle of the bustle of lower league life is not an easy one to navigate, even for English football’s most exciting, up-and-coming talent.
But after a slow start to life on loan at League Two level, the penny appears to have dropped for 18-year-old Barry.
Is Louie Barry a future Aston Villa number nine?
“There’s been a massive change in him since he walked through the door,” says Swindon manager Ben Garner. “He’s grown in confidence with each passing day.
“The group have accepted him straight away, which I think is a massive help. He’s fitted in really well, worked well in training, wants to learn, wants to improve. Very coachable. Very, very coachable.
“He takes things on. (He’s) Tactically very intelligent. The confidence of the goal at Carlisle (at the weekend) and then these two finishes on Tuesday…
“For a young lad at 18 -years-old to go in like that and show that composure is wonderful.”
The Little Jamie Vardy
Jurgen Klopp nicknamed Barry the ‘little Jamie Vardy’ after scoring against Liverpool in the FA Cup third round 13 months ago. And there was certainly shades of Vardy in the way he doubled his account in midweek.
Intercepting a loose back pass, Barry raced through on goal at the speed of light before rattling past the onrushing goalkeeper.
Things are not exactly going to plan in the present for Aston Villa. One win in eight games and, just like last year, they are sliding down the table.
But with Barry, Cameron Archer, Jaden Philogene-Bidace and more going from strength to strength, the future is positively gleaming.
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