Mark Harrison has been swooning over Aston Villa youngster Louie Barry after he signed from Barcelona, as quoted by the club's official channels.
What did he say?
Subject to international clearance, the move has been completed for the 16-year-old to join Villa, which will initially see him go into the academy setup.
When he was last in the U18s of an English side, he got four goals and three assists from 13 appearances for West Bromwich Albion in the U18 Premier League.
Harrison, Aston Villa's Head of Academy, has spoken about how delighted he is to have the youngster among his ranks: “It [Barry’s signing] sends a powerful message about the ambition of this football club. We’re delighted - Louie is a local person and his family are all Villa fans, as is Louie.
“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.
“He’s really driven, he’s got great family support, but in terms of what he can achieve, we firmly believe that he can be an outstanding number nine for this football club.”
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An exciting signing
Barry's pedigree at youth level is not exclusive to club football, as he has also shown himself to be a valuable asset for England, scoring a combined 10 goals from 14 appearances across the U15s, U16s and U17s.
Former Talent ID Manager for the English FA, Daniel Dodds, who currently works as Head of Academy Recruitment at Nottingham Forest has also been full of praise for the teenager.
Red Herring or Real Hero: Only hardcore Villa fans will get all of them right....
When being interviewed by The Scouted Hub, he even likened Barry to Jamie Vardy, stating: "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."
When Villa fans are hearing references such as that, alongside the fact that he has just spent the second half of 2019 training at La Masia, there should definitely be a reason to join Harrison in his enthusiasm towards the acquisition.
Meanwhile, Villa's transfer pursuit shows that they have learned from their past mistake.