Derby County and Stoke City handed Louie Barry transfer boost | OneFootball

Derby and Stoke have both been linked with a January move for Louie Barry

Derby County and Stoke City have received a boost from Hull City in their pursuit of a January deal for Louie Barry.

According to Hull Live, the Tigers are not interested in bringing the Aston Villa youngster back to the club in the upcoming January transfer window.

Barry joined Sheffield United on loan in the summer from the Premier League club following a stint with their Yorkshire rivals in the second half of the previous campaign.

However, the 22-year-old has struggled for game time at Bramall Lane under Chris Wilder, featuring nine times in total from their opening 18 Championship fixtures.

He played in each of their first six fixtures, the first five of which were when Ruben Selles was manager, and he has played just three times since, with Wilder now in charge.

Derby County and Stoke City receive Hull City transfer boost

It was reported last week by the BBC (09.35) that Aston Villa are set to recall Barry in January amid his lack of game time at Sheffield United.

Hull, Derby, Stoke and Oxford United were listed among the Championship sides interested in a loan for the forward.

However, it has now been claimed that the Tigers are not seeking a return for Barry in the new year.

The 22-year-old arrived at the MKM Stadium last January after a strong first half of the campaign on loan with Stockport County in League One, but injuries meant he managed just four appearances under then-manager Selles.

It’s understood that there is no interest in adding him to Sergej Jakirovic’s first team squad, with Hull in the mix for a play-off place in this first half of the season.

Hull are currently eighth in the table, one point behind sixth place Bristol City, ahead of their upcoming clash against second place Middlesbrough on 5 December.

Hull’s Louie Barry stance opens the door for Stoke and Derby

Barry hasn’t been able to make it work at Hull or Sheffield United, and constantly moving around to go on loan to different clubs can’t be helping his development.

A return to the MKM Stadium could’ve made sense, but with a different manager now in charge it wouldn’t be quite the same, so it’s not entirely surprising they aren’t interested now.

But that stance does open the door for Derby and Stoke, which is a boost to their chances of completing a deal with Villa.

Both John Eustace and Mark Robins could be the kind of manager that can help Barry get his career on track again, so either move should be quite appealing for the youngster at this stage of his career.