With Aston Villa facing the incredible situation of having to play their FA Cup tie against Liverpool tonight with no first-team players whatsoever, there might be one very important silver lining for the club.

Dean Smith and the senior squad will all be unavailable for the visit of the Reds, with Villa having to field a line-up of players from their U23s and U18s set-up.

And one starlet who Mark Delaney - the man who will be in the dugout for Villa tonight - must surely unleash, is Louie Barry.

Speaking after his arrival, Smith said: "Louie has been an academy signing first and foremost but he is one with an awful lot of potential.

"I saw him for 20 minutes in a game last week for the under-23s. He has really good movement and is a bright young kid. I am sure he will be a hit at Aston Villa but we can’t forget he is only 16. I am excited by the potential he has got, that is for sure. That is why we have gone and got him."

The now 17-year-old has been in prolific form at Premier League 2 level this season, bagging an impressive six goals in just nine games in the competition, including showing his versatility by playing through the middle and out wide.

The club's academy manager, Mark Harrison, declared: "He is still a very young man but as he’s developed, he’s always been one player that you always recognise as having outstanding attributes. He’s got a fantastic mentality, he’s desperate to do well for this football club."

Barry's style of play is something that Villa fans will surely be excited about too, with Harrison adding: "As a player, his real strength is his work rate, he’s constantly pressurising the opposition when they are on the ball, looking to create opportunities for himself to nick the ball high up the pitch.

"He is quick, and looks to play off the shoulders of the defenders, always looking for space behind them to be able to run into. He’s good in 1v1s and scores a lot of goals from balls in behind that he can run onto. He’s very much in the mould of a Jamie Vardy."

With Villa up against it tonight, Barry might be the player to really steal the limelight.