'£10m bid rejected' for Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United Sunderland transfer 'target'

A move north of the border is unlikely for Sheffield Wednesday target Louie Barry, with reports suggesting Celtic won’t be able to match Aston Villa’s price-tag.

Celtic emerged as a late suitor for Barry earlier this month, joining a host of Championship outfits interested in his signature. Among those second-tier admirers are Wednesday, with the Star first reporting in November that Hillsborough recruitment chiefs were keeping tabs on the 21-year-old’s impressive loan spell at Stockport County.

Scottish Premiership giants Celtic held an advantage in being able to offer top-flight football while also having the necessary funds to make what they thought was a suitable permanent offer. The Daily Mail reported last week on two bids coming out of Parkhead, the latter being worth £10million in total.

Celtic bid ‘rejected’

The initial fee within that proposal was thought to be just £5m, however, and while a buy-back clause offered further assurances to Aston Villa, they are thought to have rejected that bid. French outfit RC Lens are also thought to have made a similar bid, with £6m upfront this time, but a permanent exit is highly unlikely.

Football Insider now claim Celtic aren’t likely to reach Villa’s asking price, with the Premier League club not looking to sell unless they receive an offer which is ‘too good to turn down’. The exact figure is unclear but it is yet to be matched, with little chance of a sale this month.

Villa welcomed Barry back from his Stockport loan earlier this month and are carefully weighing up what steps to take while he trains with the first-team. Manager Unai Emery is keen to get a look at the former Barcelona academy prospect first-hand before making a decision on his immediate future.

“He trained with us and we are going to make a plan with him, an overall plan,” Emery admitted before his side’s FA Cup third round win over West Ham earlier this month. “I think he is a very good player who is progressing well. He has been on loan doing fantastic. Now we can have a new plan with him. He improved because he was scoring a lot of goals on loan. With us he only trained today and yesterday. Of course we are going to try and get a good plan for the club with him.”

Wednesday transfer latest

A second loan move is still the most likely outcome for Barry this month, with the forward evidently outgrowing League One with 15 goals in 23 games for Stockport. A promotion to the Championship is expected, with Wednesday one of almost a dozen interested parties.

Should Hillsborough chiefs pursue a move for Barry, they could face competition from the likes of Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and many others. But unlike those fighting for automatic promotion, the Owls are much more able to offer assurances over game-time, something Villa will take into consideration when deciding where to send their promising young forward.

Wednesday fans will be hoping their transfer window kicks into gear this week following confirmation of long-awaited talks between Danny Rohl and Dejphon Chansiri. The Owls owner revealed in an explosive fans forum that he hadn’t heard from his manager since December, a stand-off that was rectified on Monday with business expected to move forward between now and February 3.