Frenkie de Jong isn’t the only signing for Barcelona this summer that the Catalan club stole right out from the under the noses of PSG. Since the player won’t be playing in the first team anytime soon, the exact happenings of how 16-year-old Louie Barry got from West Brom to Barcelona may never be known. The third English-born player (behind Gary Lineker and Marcus McGuane) that could play for the Barcelona first team is clearly a player that the Barcelona brass was keen to bring to La Masia.
Sources say that Barry was in Paris on Thursday and underwent his PSG medical before heading to Spain on Saturday to sign for Barcelona instead. Many of the major top clubs in Europe were hot on the trail of the youngster after his accolades with the English youth squads.
Louie Barry was born in Birmingham on June 21, 2003. Instead of Wolverhampton, Aston Villa or even Birmingham City, 6-year-old Barry started his West Midlands footballing journey at West Brom Albion. Last season, he made one appearance in the Premier League 2, three appearances in the FA Youth Cup and scored four goals with three assists in twelve matches for West Broms U-18s. For a few seasons now his quality showings for the youth squads at The Hawthorns got him noticed by and the English and Irish FAs.
The striker has played for both the English and Republic of Ireland youth national teams. While he will almost certainly be sticking with England, he scored plenty of goals for both national teams a the U-16 level in the last two years. One goal in two matches for England’s U-15s back in 2017 and the first half of 2018 turned into a cap for Ireland’s U-15s. He was eligible to play for The Boys in Green due to an Irish grandparent. His two goals in September of 2018 for the Irish U-15s against Bulgaria led to a call-up with the U-16s in November. In July of 2018, however, Barry had also accepted a call-up with the England U-16s. He scored his first goal for the U-16s in a 3-1 win over France in October. Since that time, he’s scored five goals in six matches for the Three Lions U-16s.
Barry will join the Juvenil A squad and should fit in nicely as a striker up top with Jaume Jardí and combining with Brian Peña and Ilaix Moriba in the midfield. His ability to play both centrally and the wing could help him find minutes. The 16-year-old could also see opportunities in the UEFA Youth League, but there is plenty of competition there too. Next to Silvio Elías and José Mari Bakero, he signed a deal that will keep him in Catalonia until 2022.
The one issue with the transfer at present is that West Brom are reportedly unhappy with how quickly Barry was introduced at Barcelona with the necessary paperwork still apparently incomplete.
