Sheffield United given encouragement in Louie Barry transfer race amid Aston Villa stance over 15-goal hotshot
Sheffield United given encouragement in Louie Barry transfer race amid Aston Villa stance over 15-goal hotshot
Sheffield United have received some encouragement in the transfer race for Louie Barry after Aston Villa’s stance on the 15-goal hotshot emerged. Barry became a player of interest for the Blades, who are keen to add more attacking reinforcements to their squad for the second part of the season, after a stunning first half of the season on loan at Stockport County.
He was subsequently recalled by his parent club Villa, with initial reports that he may be given the chance to impress Unai Emery at the Champions League side. But FIFA rules state that if Barry played a minute for Villa he would not be allowed to feature for any other club this season, and a report from the Telegraph’s John Percy this week suggested that Villa may look to cash in on Barry this window.
United will not have untold riches to splash but their recent takeover, by American group COH Sports, has changed the landscape a little. Under the previous ownership of Prince Abdullah United would have been looking solely in the temporary market but Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, who bought United from the Saudi royal just before Christmas, have publicly pledged to back Chris Wilder in the transfer market and held a recruitment meeting late last month to iron out their window plans.
Barry is capable of playing up front or on the left wing - which is the exact profile of player boss Wilder is looking for in this window, with former loan star Ben Brereton Diaz also of interest - and has also been linked with Leeds United, Derby County and Middlesbrough, although a recent report from the Northern Echo described a deal for Barry this window as “extremely unlikely.”
United’s recruitment team have compiled detailed and lengthy lists of targets, with Wilder hopeful of some reinforcements before the Norwich City game later this month. “We’ve got priorities but we’re not always guaranteed to get the number one target,” Wilder said recently. “They've put some outstanding work in and we'll work hard to get the top targets. And if not, we'll go down the list. Negotiations have already started and started after the last window shut.
“There has to be pre-planning. I thought we had an outstanding window, it could have been a little bit better but for one reason or another, we didn't get what we unbelievably would have liked to have got. That’s no criticism of anyone, and then we go again. You're always looking at your team, it's the here and now but you’re looking and thinking: ‘Can we improve on the training pitch or in January?’
“The team's a really youthful team and has been outstanding but may need a bit of help and bringing a couple of senior players in who've been around the block and know how to go down the back nine will be key. Just to give us the opportunity to be as strong as we can be.”