Louie Barry (on loan to Sheffield United)

[Risso]

I imagine the new contract is so that he's still worth something in a year or two. Doesn't seem like the lad is progressing much, sadly. Going out on loan to a division lower than last season doesn't really inspire much confidence that he's going to make it.

[chrisw1]

Stockport County at the age of 20?

I suppose we're just hoping for a few quid down the line with the contract extension, but this lad's development is disappointing.  It's just a commercial exercise now, surely we'll never see him play in the PL?

[manic-road]

Saw him play in a friendly for the U21's on Tuesday and he looked bang average at best, I hope he develops into a player who can forge a career as a footballer but I don't imagine we will see him anywhere near the first team in the coming years.

[Rotterdam]

I'd suggest Risso is spot on with his thoughts regarding it being a business decision on Villa's part.

[Gareth]

He was always raw when there was a clamour after the signing to get him around the first team - think he did better at Salford and dropping back to League Two hopefully he will get the opportunity to play more and influence. 

I wouldn’t give up on him yet but he needs a breakthrough loan like Cam had at Preston and it needs to be this loan. 

[pablo_picasso]

I imagine the new contract is so that he's still worth something in a year or two. Doesn't seem like the lad is progressing much, sadly. Going out on loan to a division lower than last season doesn't really inspire much confidence that he's going to make it.

He has continually regressed as a player since his first loan.

If he has been given a new contract, I can only assume its so we can sell him, but Im not sure how much he will actually be worth when he struggles out on loan again.

[eamonn]

Is it still his size holding him back or is he generally not consistent enough?
I saw a little bit of highlights last season where he showed some skill but talent is obviously only part of the equation and at 20 is taken as a given.

[pablo_picasso]

Is it still his size holding him back or is he generally not consistent enough?
I saw a little bit of highlights last season where he showed some skill but talent is obviously only part of the equation and at 20 is taken as a given.

Mostly his size & being bullied off the ball.

Which I think affects his consistency...

[Risso]

He's 20 now, so whilst he may still put on a bit of muscle and fill out a bit, he's not going to get much bigger. Michael Owen didn't turn into Peter Crouch as the years went on.

[ChicagoLion]

Was in Stockport last week and the cab driver wa telling me it’s a hot bed of nightlife, wouldn’t hang around Edgely late at night though.

[Smithy]

Stockport just missed out on promotion last season (finished 4th), so I'd expect they are planning for a promotion chasing campaign. He might do okay for them, but as others have said, you'd hope at 20 he'd be looking at going up a league for his next loan, rather than down one. 

However, players develop at different rates, and there are plenty that have the raw potential but don't put it all together until their early twenties, so I'm definitely not writing him off yet. He was only 20 last month, so he has plenty of time on his side. At just turned 20 Cam Archer had only had a loan at Solihul Moors.  A good first half of the season and he could get recalled and sent somewhere higher.

If the club have given him a new contract, they at least believe he'll have some value in the next year or two, even if it's not as part of our squad. So there's something there, definitely.

Good luck Louie!

[chrisw1]

I read their press release and they sound delighted to have him - he was their No 1 target.  I think feeling really loved might well work for him.

[Risso]

MK were similar in their praise for him though, it's just the things lower league clubs says when get a Premier League youngster in on loan.

[AV84]

Are there players of a certain age whose developments may have been hampered by the Covid disruptions, I wonder?

[RamboandBruno]

He comes from round where i live and went to my kids school and knocked about with some older cousins etc, also played for the local teams when he was much younger. Absolutely flying a few years ago and i thought he might be the one that stepped up. You never know what might happen, but looks like that cup goal against Liverpool might be the highlight for him. If he get a career in the lower leagues, then that may be good enough perhaps.