West Brom must have one regretful eye on Stockport County right now: View | OneFootball

Louie Barry is impressing at Stockport County in League One, and the Baggies may regret letting him leave their academy as a result

West Bromwich Albion look strong in the Championship this season as they aim to return to the Premier League under Carlos Corberan, but they may be watching one of their academy products in the third tier with a tinge of regret over his 2019 departure.

Louie Barry spent 10 years in the Albion youth set-up from the ages of six to 16, before he left in well-publicised but controversial circumstances to join Barcelona's La Masia academy in 2019.

The striker failed to settle in Spain and soon joined the Baggies' local rivals, Aston Villa, who he is still contracted with to this day, yet has only made one senior appearance for the club in over four years.

Barry has instead been out on loan at numerous lower-league clubs, and at 21 years old, is now one of the standout strikers in League One at Stockport County, so West Brom must feel like he is one that got away as he looks set to play at the top level in the future.

Louie Barry was once a West Brom player

Barry was born and raised in Sutton Coldfield, a town just outside of Birmingham and a stone's throw from West Bromwich, so it would likely have felt like a foregone conclusion that he was to join the Baggies' academy with his potential clear from such a young age.

He was a prolific striker in every age group, and his prowess in front of goal led to an international call-up to the England under-15 side in 2018, where he scored ten goals in five games at a tournament in Italy, and then the under-16s a year later, during which he bagged three goals in the UEFA tournament Val-de-Marne, and scored at the Montaigu Tournament in France, which duly led to European interest.

Paris Saint Germain were first reported to be interested in his signature, but he made the historic move to Barcelona in July 2019 to become the first Englishman to play in La Masia for a reported £235,000 compensation fee and in doing so turned down a professional contract at the Hawthorns.

It was a complicated transfer to make, given his age and the two clubs involved, and Albion reported Barca to FIFA over the deal not long after, claiming that they had not received the compensation they were due, but a judge ultimately sided with the Spanish giants, and over two years later it was ruled that the Baggies were due no further money for the move.

He did not last long on the continent and returned to the West Midlands to sign for Aston Villa in January 2020 for an initial fee of £880,000, and his one appearance for their first team to date came a year later amid COVID-19 issues in the Villa squad, as he impressed against Liverpool with his first senior goal to equalise before an eventual 4-1 loss.

Barry has impressed on loan at Stockport

Barry has experienced varying degrees of success in loan spells at the likes of Ipswich Town, Swindon Town, MK Dons, and Salford City in years gone by, but looks to have found a home in his time at Stockport since he first moved on loan to Edgeley Park last July.

He bagged seven goals in his first 10 League Two outings for the Hatters and picked up both the EFL Young Player of the Month and the League Two Player of the Month award for September 2023 after netting in all five games that month as Dave Challinor's side battled for top spot.

The 21-year-old suffered an unfortunate hamstring injury a month later, so only returned to action for the last five games of the season as Stockport achieved promotion to the third-tier as champions, and he rejoined the club on loan once again in August after signing a contract extension at Villa.

Barry has kicked on even further in League One so far in a different left-wing role, with six goals in 10 games this season and the League One Player of the Month award for his impressive August performances, so he looks to be on the right track to fulfilling that potential that saw him make the move to one of the world's biggest clubs at just 16.

West Brom could not stand in the way of his move to Barcelona, which is obviously understandable, but still his performances at Stockport and what they say about his lofty potential must leave them tinged with some regret.