Aston Villa had a particularly busy January transfer window, more so than most clubs across the Premier League in terms of bringing new players in and moving some of their current ones out elsewhere.

On the chalkboard

One player that was on the move last month was 18-year-old striker Louie Barry, who after spending the first half of the season on loan with Ipswich Town, made the move to Swindon Town on another loan deal until the end of the season.

Villa signed the teenager back in the 2020 January transfer window from Barcelona's U19 side in a deal worth a reported fee of around £880k. Since then, the striker has gone on to make 28 appearances across the club's U18 and U23 sides, scoring 22 goals in the process, showing the attacking talents he has in his locker.

The youngster has also made one senior appearance in a Villa shirt where he managed to grab a goal against Liverpool in the 4-1 FA Cup defeat back in January last year, which was described as a "perfect finish" by Michael Owen, proving that he is not only capable of scoring regularly at youth level, but also against tough senior opposition.

It was a remarkable accomplishment, one that had Villa Park rocking and indeed, should he get a sustained chance in the senior setup, this is something he could replicate.

With just six appearances for Ipswich since the start of the season, it's safe to say that his time was being wasted at the League One side and that it was wise of Villa to take him back and move him on to Swindon, where he has already made two appearances.

Looking beyond this season, Steven Gerrard has the chance to give Barry his first real taste of what it's like to be in and around the first team throughout pre-season in the summer and then give him some regular minutes in the team once their next campaign begins.

Given the goalscoring knack that the youngster seems to have and has shown on the pitch when given the chance to play at Villa, he certainly has the ability to raise the roof at Villa Park and get the fans cheering. However, he will need to evolve his game and adapt to the Premier League as a young player having worked his way through the youth ranks at Bodymoor Heath.

With that in mind, if summer signing Danny Ings doesn't start to score regularly this season or keep his fitness levels up after missing some games earlier in the campaign, he could be in danger of having Barry take his place in the team in the future, especially if he can show what he's capable of at Swindon in the meantime.

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