Exclusive: Sky pundit drops claim on potential Aston Villa return for Louie Barry from Sheffield United - "I spoke to him" | OneFootball

The Villa loanee appears to be out of favour under Chris Wilder at Bramall Lane

Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert, Lee Hendrie, has weighed in on the debate which surrounds Louie Barry's immediate future at Sheffield United on loan from Premier League side, Aston Villa.

It has been a well-documented season of struggle so far for the Blades, who suffered their latest defeat against league-leading Coventry City on Tuesday night, blowing an initial lead to lose 3-1 at the CBS Arena.

It was a result which has now seen them lose more second tier matches in the opening three months of the current campaign than throughout the entirety of last season, where they lost the play-off final to Sunderland in heartbreaking fashion.

Since then, Chris Wilder parted company with his boyhood club, was replaced by former Southampton, Reading and Hull City boss, Ruben Selles, and was then reappointed for a third time in September after the Spaniard's tenure at Bramall Lane lasted six games across all competitions, with the Steel City outfit on the losing side in all of those particular matches.

At present, the 58-year-old is having to work with a rather bizarre blend of players due to a raft of 15 signings made between the start of the summer window and now, 14 of which were recruited by Selles amid a new data-driven model of recruitment under COH Sports.

Barry was one of those who joined on loan, having previously suffered injury misfortune under his former boss at the MKM Stadium, where he suffered ligament damage in his fourth appearance for the Tigers after previously posting 16 League One strikes in 25 games with Stockport County.

However, his time in S2 could be over before it gets going, with Hendrie believing his loan deal could be cut short and that he could be sent elsewhere by Unai Emery in January.

Since completing his latest loan switch in July, Barry has made nine appearances for the Blades, six of which have come from the start.

Only one of those starts has come under Wilder though, which was in the 1-0 success over Watford on October 18th, before being omitted from the two most-recent matchday squads against Derby County and Coventry.

Indeed, whilst United's senior side were preparing for their clash at the CBS, Barry was featuring for the Under-21s, alongside the likes of Ben Godfrey, Jamie Shackleton and Nils Zatterstrom in a 2-1 defeat against Wigan Athletic, with the 22-year-old opening the scoring after 13 minutes.

Reacting to such developments exclusively with Football League World, the former Villa and Blades midfielder wouldn't be surprised if the forward's loan is halted at the turn of the year.

"Louie Barry's situation is a problem," he said. "Ruben Selles brought him to Sheffield United and wanted to play a certain way.

"I'm not saying he can't play under Chris Wilder, but it doesn't seem to be working quite as planned.

"I spoke to him briefly at the start of the season. He was excited and upbeat about going there," Hendrie added. "As you would be.

"I think a lot of things have not just gone against Louie, but the club didn't start as they should've done. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for Sheffield United, and their forwards have come under massive scrutiny.

"I've played at the club. When things aren't going well, as you can imagine, they've got a big expectation there and the fans take it out, like every team, because they want the best from their team and their best players to perform.

"There's been too many of those who have underperformed this season, hence where they are in the table," the pundit claimed.

"It might be that Villa recall him, it might not suit his way or style. It's looking that way because he hasn't played much since Chris came back.

"This is the good thing about having loan spells. You can go out, and if it doesn't work, you come back and go somewhere else in January, which I know a number of clubs would certainly be interested in him," Hendrie claimed.

Despite remaining highly-rated in the eyes of many, it has been a luckless 2025 for the Villa prospect, who now faces an upcoming crossroads in terms of his development.

As Hendrie alluded to, he could still have a part to play in Wilder's system, but it appears as if the writing is on the wall in that regard as the Blades boss looks to make several changes in January, with question marks certainly surrounding Barry's future as a result.

It remains to be seen what the next course of action will be, as Villa will hope he can eventually prove his worth at Championship level and force his way into Emery's eyeline, or potentially make the B6 club some pure profit to ease PSR concerns.

However, if he is recalled by the West Midlands side, one would assume plenty of short-term offers would come Barry's way, in the hope that he returns to his prior form.