West Brom can ease David Brooks blow by beating Birmingham City & Hull to £3.5m Aston Villa transfer | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion should look at entering the race for Hull City and Birmingham City target Louie Barry

West Bromwich Albion will need to turn their attention elsewhere after reported interest in David Brooks has failed to materialise into a deal, and they should look perhaps at entering the race for Louie Barry amid doubts over Hull City's ability to complete their £3.5m deal for the Aston Villa attacker.

Claims on social media suggested Wales international Brooks was on the verge of signing for West Brom, but any move has now been played down by BBC reporter and commentator Steve Hermon.

Baggies jouranalist Lewis Cox has also revealed that nothing at all involved between Brooks and the club was at an advanced stage, and whilst there has been interest in the 27-year-old, the Midlands outfit may have to look at other targets.

West Brom must move quickly for Louie Barry as Hull City deal in doubt

Whilst there's a small chance that Brooks could still end up at The Hawthorns if circumstances change, the club's recruitment team need to be looking at alternative attacking midfielder/winger options to bolster Ryan Mason's squad.

And West Brom should perhaps now turn their focus to Louie Barry, who perhaps represents a golden opportunity, following reports that Hull City's permanent deal for the Aston Villa winger is on the brink of collapse.

The Athletic reported that Hull are struggling to afford the financial package they agreed upon - including Barry's wage - which is putting the entire transfer in serious doubt.

This development opens the door for the Baggies to swoop for a player who has been of interest to Birmingham City - his name was mentioned internally at the club when it came to identifiying summer transfer targets, but there's seemingly been no movement since.

Barry is a very different profile to Brooks and tends to play on the opposite flank, but pulling off a deal like this would ease the blow of missing out on the Welshman and put some much-needed quality back in Albion's attack.

Hull City owner, Acun Ilicali, had previously been confident about securing Barry's signature, saying to Hull Live, "I like Louie Barry; he likes us. We had a good conversation with him three days ago."

However, with the Tigers now seemingly unable to meet their financial commitments, there is a clear path for West Brom to hijack the deal.

Louie Barry returning to West Brom would be a coup for the club if they were able to get a deal done

Louie Barry would be a coup for West Brom, particularly given his history with the club.

The 22-year-old was in the Baggies' academy before his controversial exit to Barcelona in 2019 - later joining Aston Villa after his brief stint at La Masia.

West Brom never received compensation for Barry after FIFA ruled the club had not formally offered him a scholarship, and he may feel as though he has unfinished business in the Black Country.

Barry has already proven himself in the third tier of English football, scoring 15 goals and providing two assists in just 23 League One appearances for Stockport County during the first half of the 2024/25 season, before being recalled by Villa in January and sent to Hull City.

Injury issues - that have somewhat plagued Barry with lengthy stints on the sidelines in the last few seasons at times - reared up once more though, and he was limited to just four appearances for the Tigers due to knee cartilage damage,

There were claims that Villa needed to sell players before the end of trading on June 30 due to PSR deadlines, making Barry reportedly one of three players the club have told can find another club - Kaine Kesler-Hayden joined Coventry City but that was announced on July 1, and with Barry still at the club now, it appears that Villa solved their issues one way or another.

Despite that though, Barry is evidently seen as dispensible after the club agreed a deal with Hull in principle, but with that now in severe doubt, it should be West Brom jumping all over it.

The Baggies have lost attacking creativity in the form of Grady Diangana and John Swift this summer - albeit both didn't perform to great levels last season - Barry's creativity and pace would provide exactly the type of quality Ryan Mason needs in the final third.