Sheffield Wednesday Gain Edge To Sign 21-Year-Old Striker

Sheffield Wednesday and their Championship rivals look to have the edge over Celtic in the race for Louie Barry, with reports suggesting a move within England would be preferred.

Wednesday are one of almost a dozen Championship clubs to have been linked with interest in Barry, with the Star first reporting in November that Hillsborough chiefs had an eye on the 21-year-old. A return of 15 goals in 23 League One games at Stockport County has since been enough to pique interest from the likes of Leeds United, Sunderland, Sheffield United and plenty more.

Scottish Premiership giants Celtic also joined the race more recently, with Brendan Rodgers in need of a right-winger. But while their top-flight and European status could have proven an advantage, Football Insider suggests a drop down to the Championship is Aston Villa’s preference.

Barry loan update

A loan deal remains the most likely outcome for Barry, with Villa open to sending him into the second-tier for a continued spell of regular football. The Premier League club have high hopes for their young forward and so would be reluctant to any kind of permanent exit.

Football Insider also recently claimed Villa will first look to tie Barry down to a new contract before exploring options for his immediate future. The England youth international did exactly that over the summer, putting pen to paper on improved terms before joining Stockport.

The report does not categorically rule out a sale, but insists any offer would need to comprise a ‘big fee’ if Celtic want to lure Barry away from Villa Park permanently. The player himself is said to be keen on staying in the Midlands and fighting for a place under Unai Emery.

He trained with us and we are going to make a plan with him, an overall plan,” Emery admitted before his side’s FA Cup third round win over West Ham earlier this month. “I think he is a very good player who is progressing well. He has been on loan doing fantastic. Now we can have a new plan with him. He improved because he was scoring a lot of goals on loan. With us he only trained today and yesterday. Of course we are going to try and get a good plan for the club with him.”

Wednesday fans will hope news of a signing or two can improve the mood around Hillsborough, following a miserable week which ended with Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Leeds United. Owls boss Danny Röhl is hoping to speak with owner Dejphon Chansiri in the coming days, having not been in contact since December.

Chansiri revealed the startling lack of communication during an explosive midweek fans forum, ending the five-hour session by revealing Southampton had recalled Shea Charles from his season-long loan spell. Wednesday still harbour some hope of welcoming the midfielder back but their city rivals Sheffield United have since been linked with interest.

Owls fans will be keeping a keen eye on the future of Lesley Ugochukwu, who is currently on loan at Southampton from Chelsea. The Star understands last week’s decision to recall Charles was partly due to uncertainty over their own on-loan midfielder’s future, with a return to Stamford Bridge on the cards.