Aston Villa loanee ‘returns’ to parent club, deal to be terminated soon
Aston Villa starlet Louie Barry is back training at Aston Villa as they plan to recall him from his tough loan spell at Sheffield United in January.
There have been high hopes for Louie Barry‘s career for a number of years after he featured in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy as a 16-year-old.
He joined Aston Villa in 2020 from the Catalan giants, and has spent time out on loan with numerous EFL sides since then, with his most notable spell coming at Stockport County between 2023 and 2025.
Barry spent the second-half of last season at Hull City after being recalled from his spell at Stockport, but struggled in the Championship before returning to Villa in the summer.
Celtic were linked to Barry ahead of this season, but he instead joined Sheffield United on loan, where he has struggled to make an impact so far with another recall now on the horizon.
Louie Barry back at Villa ahead of Sheffield United recall
Versatile forward Barry has played nine times for the Blades so far this season amid their poor start to the season that has seen Chris Wilder return for his third spell as manager.
He has not played for his loan club since 24 October, against Preston, and the BBC have now reported that Villa are planning to recall him from Sheffield United in the January window.
The 22-year-old has been “struggling” with a cyst in his right knee, hence his recent absence from the Blades’ squad, and has returned to Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground for treatment.
He is expected to return to United in December, but it remains “unlikely” that he will play for the club again, with the Villans planning to loan him out immediately after their recall decision.
The report states that Stoke City lead the race for his signature, but they are among a host of interested Championship clubs which include Derby County, Hull and Oxford United.
What Chris Wilder has said about Barry
Emery has previously called Barry’s potential “fantastic” [Birmingham Mail], but his path into Villa’s first-team looks unclear as of now considering his struggles in the second-tier.
Blades manager Wilder clarified his view on the attacker this week after confirmation that he had returned to the Second City, saying: “He’s back there. It’s been a difficult loan for Louie but he’s got an injury at the moment.
“So Villa, as his parent club, are looking at that. Obviously, at the start, he played games and he was the previous manager’s signing. But his attitude has been spot on. He’s a good kid to work with.
“There will be players who are on loan here, who will go back to their parent clubs…but at the moment, Louis is here to the first of January.
“He’s injured at the moment, he’s back at Villa and we’ll just see how that progresses over the next couple of weeks.”
It certainly seems likely that he is sent to a different Championship side in the new year, with this next loan spell needing to be a real success if he wishes to break into Emery’s side soon.