Leicester City urged to complete ‘perfect’ Aston Villa transfer | OneFootball

FLW’s Leicester City fan pundit has commented on a potential move for forward Louie Barry.

Leicester City will be hopeful of moving quickly on the transfer front now Russell Martin has been appointed.

The ex-Southampton and Rangers boss has entered the hotseat at the King Power Stadium, tasked with getting the Foxes back into the Championship at the first time of asking following shock back-to-back relegations down to the third tier.

It means Leicester will be playing League One football for the first time since 2009, a stark drop considering it’s been over a decade since their famous Premier League title lift under Claudio Ranieri.

Foxes fans will be hopeful the arrival of Martin will be the start of a new era at the club, and that they can target a return to the Premier League at some stage given Martin’s previous success in gaining promotion out of the Championship.

But the first step is to get out of League One, and it may well be a trickier task than anticipated, particularly with Leicester set to lose a lot of first-team figures due to relegation.

And with that, they will have to be amply replaced, either with proven League One players or Championship level players who are too good for the third tier, but believe in the project Leicester are trying to move forward with.

In the striking department, a summer target could well be Louie Barry, who established himself as a potent force in League One from his time at Stockport County, netting 19 times in 32 games for the Hatters over the last two seasons.

So could Barry be the goalscorer that the Foxes need to gain promotion out of League One? FLW’s Leicester City fan pundit has commented on whether he would welcome Barry to the East Midlands..

Louie Barry deemed ‘perfect’ addition for Leicester City

Speaking to Football League World, Leicester City fan pundit Jamie Preston believes Louie Barry’s excellent goal record in League One would be the ‘perfect’ addition for the Foxes, with Russell Martin’s men needing a proven third tier marksman to get them back to the Championship as quickly as possible.

Jamie told FLW: “With Patson Daka leaving, Jordan Ayew leaving this summer and Jamie Vardy leaving last summer, it leaves us very short in the striking option.

“We’ve got Jake Evans, who has been on loan at Northampton, he’s only 18. We’ve got Lorenz Hutchinson, who’s in the U18’s, scoring goals left, right and centre, but I think he’s too young for League One, so someone like Louie Barry would be absolutely fantastic.

“I think he needs to find a new home, he needs a new challenge, he’s been out on loan a lot of times from Aston Villa and hasn’t played many games at all for Villa.

“He’s scored goals in League One, which is the perfect type of player as we need a goalscorer to get us promoted from this league, then perhaps another older head, a 28, 29-year-old who’s also been around League One or the lower end of the Championship.

“Barry knows where the back of the net is, and I think he’d be a decent option.”

Louie Barry needs a permanent new home to thrive

If there’s one thing Louie Barry needs in his footballing career now, it’s stability.

The frontman has had so many loan moves away since joining Aston Villa in the winter of 2020, and with the Villains going from strength-to-strength by winning the Europa League last season, it’s difficult to see Barry ever making a first-team appearance at Villa Park again.

If Leicester do secure Barry's signature, then they’ll be taking a player on who has had his confidence dented by unsuccessful loan spells in the second tier with Hull City and Sheffield United.

But Barry knows where the back of the net is in the third tier, and moving him into a permanent new home at Leicester could be just what he needs to get his mind focused, restore his confidence and see him get back on the goal-scoring trail.

The 22-year-old has proven his quality when netting 15 goals for Stockport during the 2024-25 term, so Leicester could be huge beneficiaries if he can get back to those previous levels.

It could well be a gamble worth taking, with Barry needing to bounce back and prove his credentials once again after a difficult last campaign.