Aston Villa are certainly one of the league's in-form sides having picked up nine points from their last five games under new manager Steven Gerrard, only losing to Manchester City and Liverpool.

However, the Villans face a hectic schedule across the festive period, playing seven games within the space of a month and the 41-year-old will need numerous options to rely on should his squad rack up injuries and suspensions.

The West Midlands side possesses some decent attacking talents, with Villa scoring 21 league goals in 16 games thus far. Together, strikers Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings have scored a combined seven of those goals.

Ings though has been unreliable with his fitness since swapping Southampton for Birmingham in the summer, making 11 appearances in the league and Gerrard could certainly do with some more options in the striker department.

Villa have a handful of exciting, young attacking options with the likes of Jacob Ramsey, Cameron Archer and Carney Chukwuemeka all featuring for the first team this campaign.

Although, the B6 club do also have another attacking option currently on loan, who could prove useful for Gerrard's squad, should he be recalled, and that's Louie Barry.

Having joined League One outfit Ipswich Town on loan in the summer, the 18-year-old striker has seen limited game time, playing just 286 minutes for the Tractor Boys.

The Suffolk club have also recently sacked manager Paul Cook, which could prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Barry.

The former-Barcelona youth player has been likened to Michael Owen in the past by former Villa player Lee Hendrie and was labelled "outstanding" upon the signing of his first pro-contract.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, Hendrie labelled the young forward's most exciting qualities:

“He reminds me of a young Michael Owen in the fact that he’s very slight, small, but he’s very quick, and I’m surprised that he hasn’t been given a bit more of a chance since that game.”

The match the pundit refers to is one that fans will remember for the youngster's well-taken goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup last season, equalising in a 4-1 defeat when numerous youngsters were required to play after the first team had taken a major pandemic-related hit.

There has been a suggestion that Barry could be recalled and then sent out on loan to a League Two club, however, the 18-year-old could certainly prove to be an option for Gerrard, one that potentially saves him millions in potential transfer fees.