Louie Barry leaves Aston Villa for Sheffield Wednesday after lone senior outing | OneFootball

Louie Barry has completed a permanent move from Aston Villa to Sheffield Wednesday, ending a six-and-a-half year stay that brought a single first-team appearance.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, Villa have inserted a sell-on clause and matching rights, and Barry becomes the second Villa player to join Wednesday this month after defender Sil Swinkels.

A boyhood Villa fan, Barry arrived from Barcelona in January 2020 for an initial £880,000, six months after a contentious switch from Albion. Fifa ruled Albion were not due compensation because they had not formally offered a scholarship. Had he moved directly to Villa from Albion, the fee was likely comparable to the £4million Manchester City paid for Morgan Rogers in 2019.

His Villa career never ignited, though his most recent deal, signed in January last year, was worth around £35,000-a-week. His only senior outing came in the 2021 FA Cup third round, when a Covid outbreak at Bodymoor Heath forced Villa to field their youth side. He scored in a 4-1 defeat to the then Premier League champions, Liverpool.

Barry spent most of his time out on loan, thriving at Stockport County where he helped win League Two promotion in 2024. He was close to joining Hull City for £3.5m last summer, only for the move to fall through after an EFL sanction for late payments.

He began last season on loan at Sheffield United, then rejoined Stockport in January and narrowly missed promotion to the Championship via the play-offs. Wednesday, relegated from the second tier last season, have now provided a permanent exit.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com