Cardiff City and Lincoln City face serious Stockport County threat after Deadline Day development | OneFootball

Louie Barry is back at Stockport County, and if he can get back to his best, Dave Challinor's side may gatecrash League One's top two come May

Stockport County's favourite loanee is back through the door, as Louie Barry has returned to Edgeley Park for a third spell from Aston Villa.

The exciting youngster had an injury-hit 2025 which saw him make just 13 Championship appearances across two underwhelming loan spells at Hull City and then Sheffield United.

Understandably, his stock has taken a big hit, just a year on from being the highest it's ever been after a 15-goal opening to the 2024/25 League One campaign at the club he's now returned to.

Indeed, Barry's excellence between August and January last season saw him end the season just six goals behind eventual Golden Boot winner Charlie Kelman and shortlisted for the division's Young Player of the Season award, too, despite playing just 23 times.

Those months were the only period in the last two years that the 22-year-old has remained fully fit, and if he can replicate that performance level back at Edgeley Park, a place where he's thrived in each of his first two loan spells, the points gap between Stockport and Lincoln City and Cardiff City, League One's top two, could evaporate quickly.

The return of Louie Barry has improved an already frightening frontline at Stockport County

Stockport's own personal shortcomings throughout the opening half of the campaign came through their sloppiness at the back.

Corey Addai was once again replaced by club legend Ben Hinchliffe just games into the season due to poor performances, and other than the ever present Ethan Pye, Dave Challinor has struggled to nail down a consistent backline.

On the flip side, Stockport's attack has been deadly in the opening half of the campaign. League One's top scorer, Kyle Wootton, has 15 goals, and they are the most he's scored in a single season in his County career so far.

Additionally, Jack Diamond has provided a threat, Ollie Norwood has gotten in on the act, and Benony Andresson has started to provide a good boost backing up Wootton up top in recent weeks.

However, that hasn't been enough for Dave Challinor, who brought in Adameh Sidbeh on a permanent deal, and then used the loan market to bring in highly-rated attacking midfielder Josh Stokes from Bristol City and a returning Tanto Olaofe, who had excelled under the County boss across the two previous campaigns and had earned a move to the Championship with Charlton Athletic just last summer.

But, in an attempt to completely reunite the frontline from the start of last season, Stockport went in for Barry, and were successful in acquiring his loan services for the third time on deadline day.

With Wootton in the goalscoring form of his career, Barry and Stokes behind him, and then Sidbeh, Diamond, Olaofe, Malik Mothersille and Andresson waiting in the wings, there arguably haven't been many more terrifying frontlines in League One ever.

An already electric, goalscoring outfit has gotten even better in the forward areas, and if Barry can replicate what he did a year ago at Edgeley Park, while not taking too much of the scoring load from Wootton, not many defences will be looking forward to facing them between now and the end of the season.

Stockport County can build up a real head of steam in their pursuit of automatic promotion

It's the old cliché that a good January transfer window can give a side on the periphery of their goals that needs a boost to help achieve them. Stockport are slightly behind where they'd like to be, and yet that's still got them fourth in the league. This window could help them jump into the top two.

Once Dave Challinor's side gets a head of steam, too, there isn't much that can stop them. Last season, they won seven and drew one in their final eight games en route to a third-placed finish, and only lost three league games from January until the end of the season.

In their League Two title-winning campaign the year before, they won eight straight to confirm the title, before losing away at fellow-promoted side Wrexham on the final day.

With captain Lewis Bate making his first starts of the season in the last two games after returning from meniscus surgery, plus a productive January window, Stockport's squad is close to complete, and with the finishing line in the distance, it's now full steam ahead.

There are six points to make up on Lincoln, and eight on league leaders Cardiff, with all still with 17 games to play. County have played the Bluebirds twice already this season, but still have to travel to Sincil Bank in March.

The current top two are very strong, but with Stockport having won four of their last five off the back of a two-month run where they couldn't string consecutive wins together, they're getting stronger too, and we could be in for a fun three-horse race for the automatic promotion places come the end of the season.