Exclusive: Emile Heskey backs Birmingham City to complete Aston Villa deal | OneFootball

Former Birmingham City forward Emile Heskey believes Blues will benefit massively from the signing of Louie Barry.

Former England international Emile Heskey believes Birmingham City should get a deal over the line to sign Aston Villa’s Louie Barry, now the 21-year-old is now “coming of age”.

Heskey, who scored 16 goals from 78 appearances for Blues between 2004 and 2006, has been speaking exclusively to Football League World (via Poker Scout) about Birmingham City’s upcoming return to the Championship, with Chris Davies’ men smashing the record League One points tally as they resoundingly lifted the third-tier title.

The West Midlands outfit are expected to be significantly backed financially by Tom Wagner as they search for a return to the Premier League as quickly as possible, but Blues will first have to build a squad that can compete in such a relentless 46-game campaign.

Blues will undoubtedly have to score enough goals at the top end of the pitch to retain their Championship status, and the club have been linked with a move for Aston Villa forward Louie Barry to bolster their forward line.

The former West Brom player had a breakthrough in the first half of this season with Stockport County, before joining Hull City for the second part of the term.

He is now being touted for another move back to the Championship, and Heskey has offered his thoughts over a potential move.

Emile Heskey backs Louie Barry to kickstart the next stage of his career with Birmingham City

Speaking exclusively to Football League World (via Poker Scout), Emile Heskey believes Louie Barry needs to be a regular starter in the Championship to kickstart his career, and a move to Birmingham City would be an appealing destination to achieve it.

Heskey said: “He’s coming of age, isn’t he? He’s been a wonderkid and shown what he can do but now is a step to really establish himself as a first-team regular in the Championship, which is probably the fifth or sixth-best league in the world.

“I think it’s great to see that he’s performing that way to then have the likes of Birmingham looking at him because we’ve seen so many wonderkids fall off, but he seems to be taking the right steps, and this could be a massive step for him to start establishing himself.

“I followed him for years when he was playing for the England youths, so there’s no reason why he can’t start having aspirations of the (England) first team.”

Birmingham City’s style could bring the best out of Louie Barry

Louie Barry was in sensational form during the first half of the season at Stockport County, with his clinical eye in front of goal seeing the young forward net 15 times from 23 League One appearances.

Much excitement was generated when he made the swap to the MKM Stadium, but after just four league games, Barry’s season was ended by an untimely knee injury.

Able to operate on either the left flank or as the number nine, Barry could be a handy and versatile option to have in the Birmingham squad for their latest venture in the Championship, and we’ve seen from regular gametime at Stockport that the goals can flow.

While the Championship is a huge step-up in class, Barry’s knee issue restricted what could be seen of him in the second tier, and he needs another opportunity to showcase the talent he possesses.

Being able to do that in a Birmingham side that is sure to be aggressive, on the front foot and eager to score goals will suit his offensive style down to the ground, and it could be a fruitful partnership if a deal can be struck this summer.