Louie Barry

Louie Barry

Barry with Stockport County.
Personal information
Full name	Louie Mark Barry [1]
Date of birth	(2003-06-21) 21 June 2003 (age 20) [2]
Place of birth	Sutton Coldfield, England
Position(s)	Striker, winger
Team information
Current team	Stockport County (on loan from Aston Villa)
Number	20
Youth career
0000–2009	Sutton United
2009–2019	West Bromwich Albion
2019–2020	Barcelona
2020–2021	Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–	Aston Villa	0	(0)
2021–2022	→ Ipswich Town (loan)	2	(0)
2022	→ Swindon Town (loan)	14	(6)
2022–2023	→ Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	22	(1)
2023	→ Salford City (loan)	19	(2)
2023–	→ Stockport County (loan)	20	(9)
International career‡
2017–2018	England U15
2018	Republic of Ireland U15
2018	Republic of Ireland U16
2018–2019	England U16
2019–2020	England U17
2021	England U18	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:07, 21 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:55, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

Louie Mark Barry (born 21 June 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker and winger for League Two club Stockport County, on loan from Premier League club Aston Villa.

Having spent a decade in the West Bromwich Albion Academy he moved to Barcelona in 2019, becoming the first English player to join and play for the La Masia academy. He subsequently joined the Aston Villa Academy in January 2020. Barry has represented both England and the Republic of Ireland at youth international level.

Early and personal life

Barry was born in Sutton Coldfield, ^[3] and has dual British and Irish citizenship. ^[2] He attended Bishop Walsh Catholic School. ^[4] In February 2020, he said that he had been an Aston Villa fan his entire life. ^[4]

Barry is of no relation to the former Aston Villa player and captain Gareth Barry. ^[5]

Club career

Early career

Barry played for local Sutton Coldfield side, Sutton United as an under-8 where he played with future teammate Tim Iroegbunam. ^[6] Barry joined the West Bromwich Albion academy at the age of six and by 2018, had progressed to the U21 squad. ^[7]

Barcelona

After spending ten years with West Bromwich Albion, Barry signed a three-year contract with Spanish club Barcelona in July 2019. ^{[2] [7]} He had previously been close to signing for French club Paris Saint-Germain. ^[8] He became the first English player to join La Masia. ^[9] In September 2019 it was announced that Albion were going to report Barcelona to FIFA over the transfer, claiming that they had not received the compensation they were due. ^[10] Barcelona contested this, however, stating that they did not believe that his scholarship for Albion had any international standing, and that they would wait for the verdict from FIFA. ^[11] He subsequently had to wait three months for his international registration to be confirmed which meant he missed the first seven matches of the Barcelona under-19 season. ^[12] A judge ultimately ruled in favour of Barcelona and in November 2021 stated that Albion were due no further compensation. ^[13]

Barry made his debut for Barcelona's under-19 side in October 2019, scoring on his first start, in a 6–0 victory against Ebro. ^[14] He made ten competitive under-19 appearances in the league and UEFA Youth League for Barcelona in the 2019–20 season, scoring twice. ^[15] His side were declared U19 league champions in May 2020, a few months after Barry left the club, after the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed the youth season. ^[16]

Aston Villa

In January 2020 he held talks with Aston Villa, ^[17] signing for them later that month for a fee of £880,000, ^[18] which could rise to £3.5m with add-ons. Barry signed a three-year contract, as this is the maximum allowed for a player of his age – with an agreement of an automatic further three years at the end of that. ^[19] He made his debut for the club's U23 team on 23 January, shortly before he was officially unveiled by the Midlands club. He came on to score the equaliser in a 2–1 win over Cardiff City. ^[20] In June he spent time training with the Aston Villa first team, ^[21] then made a first appearance in the EFL Trophy with the club's under-21 side four months later. ^[22]

On 8 January 2021, after ten of Villa's first-team players tested positive for COVID-19, Barry was selected to make his debut in the FA Cup third round against Liverpool. ^[23] Barry scored to equalise the game at 1–1, before Liverpool went on to win 4–1. ^[24] Barry's performance prompted the Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, to refer to the youngster as "Little Jamie Vardy" ^[25] The goal was voted 'Goal of the Round' by BBC Sport readers. ^[26] On 24 May, Barry was part of the Aston Villa U18 squad that won the FA Youth Cup, beating Liverpool U18s 2–1 in the final. ^[27] On 7 July, Villa announced that they had exercised an option in Barry's contract to automatically extend it until 2024. ^[28]

Ipswich Town loan

On 6 August 2021, Barry signed for League One side Ipswich Town on a season-long loan. ^{[29] [30]} He made his debut on 10 August, in a 1–0 EFL Cup defeat to Newport County. ^[31] He made his Football League debut four days later in a 2–1 defeat at Burton Albion. ^[32] After finding game time limited at Ipswich, Barry returned to Villa in January, having made 6 appearances during his loan. ^[33]

Swindon Town loan

On 28 January 2022, Barry signed for League Two side Swindon Town on loan for the remainder of the season. ^{[34] [35]} He made his debut on 1 February, as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw against Crawley Town. ^[36] On 19 February, he scored his first senior league goal, in a 3–0 away victory over Carlisle United. ^[37]

Milton Keynes Dons loan

On 12 July 2022, Barry joined League One club Milton Keynes Dons until the end of the 2022–23 season. ^{[38] [39]} He made his debut on 30 July 2022 as a 61st-minute substitute in a 1–0 defeat away to Cambridge United. ^[40]

Salford City loan

On 30 January 2023, Barry had his Milton Keynes Dons loan terminated, ^[41] to facilitate a loan move to Salford City until the end of the season. ^{[42] [43]}

Stockport County loan

On 28 July 2023, Barry signed a contract extension with Aston Villa, and on the same day joined League Two club Stockport County on a season-long loan. ^{[44] [45]} Having scored in all five of his team's fixtures, assisting a further three goals, Barry was awarded both the EFL Young Player of the Month and the EFL League Two Player of the Month award for September 2023. ^{[46] [47]}

International career

Barry has represented England at under-15, under-16 and under-17 youth levels. ^{[3] [2] [8]} He is also eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland, ^[2] and has represented them at under-15 and under-16 level in 2018 before returning to play for England youth sides. ^[48] In 2018 Barry scored ten goals in five games for the England under-15 side at a tournament in Italy. ^[49]

In 2019 Barry was part of the England under-17 side that were victorious in the Syrenka Cup, he started the final and assisted Jamal Musiala for one of England's goals against hosts Poland, a 2–2 draw which England subsequently won on penalties. ^[50]

By February 2020 he had scored 21 goals in 20 games for England's youth teams. ^[4]

On 29 March 2021, Barry made his debut for England U18s during a 2–0 win away to Wales at the Leckwith Stadium. ^[51]

Career statistics

As of match played 20 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aston Villa U21	2020–21 [52]	—							1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
Aston Villa	2020–21 [52]	Premier League	0	0	1	1	0	0	—		1	1
	2021–22 [53]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2022–23 [54]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2023–24 [55]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1
Ipswich Town (loan)	2021–22 [53]	League One	2	0	0	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	6	0
Swindon Town (loan)	2021–22 [53]	League Two	14	6	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	16	6
Milton Keynes Dons (loan)	2022–23 [54]	League One	22	1	2	0	3	0	5 [lower-alpha 1]	0	32	1
Salford City (loan)	2022–23 [54]	League Two	19	2	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	21	2
Stockport County (loan)	2023–24 [55]	League Two	20	9	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	22	9
Career total			76	17	3	1	5	0	14	0	98	18

1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in League Two play-offs

Honours

Barcelona U19

• División de Honor Juvenil: 2019–20 ^[16]

Aston Villa U18

• FA Youth Cup: 2020–21 ^[27]

England U16

• Tournoi Val-de-Marne: 2018 ^[49]

England U17

• Syrenka Cup: 2019 ^[50]

Individual

• Tournoi Val-de-Marne – Top Goalscorer: 2018 ^[49]
• Premier League 2 – Player of the Month: January 2021 ^[56]
• EFL League Two Player of the Month: September 2023 ^[47]
• EFL Young Player of the Month: September 2023 ^[46]

References

1. "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
2. "Louie Barry signs for Barça". www.fcbarcelona.com.
3. "Who is Louie Barry? Barcelona's 16-year-old 'pearl' from West Brom | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
4. Horner, Nick (3 February 2020). "Louie Barry breaks his Villa silence and issues West Brom message". birminghammail.co.uk.
5. Kendrick, Mat (10 March 2023). "Aston Villa fans will love Gareth Barry's brilliant five-word message to Louie Barry". birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
6. Preece, Ashley (March 2022). "'A bit like Pogba and Kante' - Steven Gerrard's masterplan for Aston Villa's new wonderkid". Birmingham Mail . Retrieved 15 March 2022.
7. "Barcelona: Louie Barry signs from West Brom". BBC Sport. 11 July 2019.
8. "Barcelona sign England Under-16 striker Louie Barry from West Brom". The Guardian. 11 July 2019.
9. Marsden, Samuel (28 October 2019). "Louie Barry scores on Barcelona youth debut after becoming first Englishman in La Masia academy". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 15 February 2021.
10. Masi, Joseph. "West Brom to report Barcelona to FIFA over Louie Barry move". www.expressandstar.com.
11. "Barcelona explain why they have not yet paid WBA for Louie Barry". sport. 4 September 2019. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
12. "Louie Barry scores on Barcelona youth debut after becoming first Englishman in La Masia academy". Daily Mirror. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
13. Whiley, Mark (2 November 2021). "West Brom learn outcome of Barcelona compensation claim for Aston Villa starlet". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
14. "Louie Barry scores first goal on debut start for FC Barcelona U19A side". FC Barcelona . Retrieved 7 October 2020.
15. "Louie Barry leaves for Aston Villa". FC Barcelona . Retrieved 15 February 2021.
16. "U19 team declared 2019/20 league champions". FC Barcelona . Retrieved 15 February 2021.
17. "Louie Barry: Barcelona youngster in talks with Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 7 January 2020.
18. "Louie Barry: Aston Villa sign Barcelona youngster". BBC Sport. 23 January 2020.
19. Preece, Ashley (10 January 2021). "Barcelona to Bodymoor Heath – The extensive lowdown on Aston Villa's teenage sensation Louie Barry". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
20. Rushton, James (23 January 2020). "How Louie Barry is already impressing Aston Villa and Dean Smith". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
21. Dicken, Alex (12 June 2020). "Smith calls up 'best 16-year-old in the country' to Villa training". birminghammail.
22. "Starting Lineups – Fleetwood vs Aston Villa U21". Sky Sports . Retrieved 7 October 2020.
23. "Villa confirm 10 players have tested positive for COVID as EFL announces 112 cases". talkSPORT. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
24. Chowdhury, Saj (8 January 2021). "Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 4". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
25. Alex Dicken, BirminghamLive, 9 January 2021, Jurgen Klopp gives Louie Barry brilliant nickname after Liverpool beat Aston Villa's kids
26. "Barry wins goal of FA Cup third round". BBC Sport.
27. Preece, Ashley (24 May 2021). "Aston Villa vs Liverpool FA Youth Cup final LIVE updates". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
28. "Young Lions sign new contracts". Aston Villa Football Club. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
29. Warren, Andy (6 August 2021). "Town complete signing of top Villa prospect Barry". East Anglian Daily Times.
30. "Ipswich sign Villa prospect Barry". BBC Sport.
31. Warren, Andy (10 August 2021). "Ipswich Town 0-1 Newport County: Youngsters impress but Blues exit at first hurdle". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
32. "Cook: Disappointing, We'd Managed Their Threat - Ipswich Town News". TWTD.co.uk. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
33. "Barry Returns to Aston Villa". www.itfc.co.uk. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
34. "Town get their man as Barry signs!". www.swindontownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
35. "Swindon sign striker Barry on loan". BBC Sport.
36. "Swindon 1-1 Crawley: Ben Gladwin snatches stoppage-time point for Robins". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
37. "Carlisle United 0-3 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
38. "MK Dons bring in Louie Barry". Milton Keynes Dons. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
39. "MK Dons sign winger Barry from Aston Villa". BBC Sport.
40. "Cambridge United 1-0 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
41. "Barry moves to Salford City". www.mkdons.com. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
42. "Louie Barry joins on loan from Aston Villa". salfordcityfc.co.uk. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
43. "Aston Villa loan winger Barry to Salford". BBC Sport.
44. "Louie Barry pens new deal and seals loan". Aston Villa Football Club. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
45. "Stockport sign Aston Villa forward Barry on loan" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
46. "Stockport County's Louie Barry wins the EFL's Young Player of the Month". www.efl.com. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
47. "Chally and Louie clean up September awards". www.stockportcounty.com. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
48. "Ireland Under-16 cap Louie Barry completes move to Barcelona". independent.
49. Wilson, Matt. "England youth striker Louie Barry rejects contract and leaves West Brom". Express and Star. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
50. "YOUNG LIONS LIFT THE SYRENKA CUP WITH A PENALTY SHOOTOUT WIN OVER HOSTS POLAND". The FA. The Football Association . Retrieved 7 September 2021.
51. "TWO SECOND-HALF GOALS SEAL WIN FOR ENGLAND MEN'S UNDER-18S OVER WALES IN CARDIFF". TheFA.com. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
52. "Games played by Louie Barry in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
53. "Games played by Louie Barry in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
54. "Games played by Louie Barry in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
55. "Games played by Louie Barry in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
56. "Aston Villa's Barry wins PL2 Player of the Month award". Premier League . Retrieved 15 February 2021.

External links

• Louie Barry at Soccerway