Unai Emery, the manager of Aston Villa, has made his views on young players clear since taking over in October of last year.
A month after arrival back in the Premier League, the Basque manager was markedly positive as he stated: “Here we have a very good academy and good young players. Of course, my point of view about this club is to improve with experienced players and with good players and with young players as well.”
Recently, Aston Villa have seen homegrown talents hit the mainstream consciousness with the likes of Jacob Ramsey and Carney Chukwumeka’s remarkable development, and it seems that the Bodymoor Training Ground has steadily crafted another player destined for great things. Another such asset is Louie Barry.
Who exactly is Louie Barry?
Barry turned heads from the start. You’ve maybe heard of the Sutton Coldfield native after he built up a reputation in youth football. After he won the Golden Boot as England U16 trumped the Val-de-Marne tournament, Barry dramatically switched West Brom’s academy for Barcelona in 2019
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The forward’s ten years at West Brom ended in coveted fashion, as Blaugrana representatives recognised Barry as “one of the best young players in English football”. The striker’s La Masia education only lasted a year but clubs were ready to snap up his signature on his return to home shores and in January 2020, he joined Aston Villa
After steady progress in the ranks, and similarly to the aforementioned Ramsey, Barry popped onto the scene again in 2021. While Villa’s side set to face Liverpool in the FA Cup Third Round had been pulverised by COVID-19, instead of forfeiting, the Villans opted to give the youth a go.
Well, despite a 4-1 defeat to the rampant Reds, the home side’s second-string still pulled out a remarkable performance. Barry stole the limelight with a goal that made it 1-1 before Liverpool duly reacted.
While first-team strength opposition had rendered his contribution ineffective, Barry’s run in behind and perfect slot beyond Caiomhin Kelleher had dispelled any doubts about his ability on his return to England.
