Villa chief comments on ‘marquee’ move for Louie Barry amid West Brom confrontation
Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow has commented on the club’s move to bring Louie Barry back to the Midlands from Barcelona amongst compensation dispute with West Brom.
West Brom are still seeking the compensation they are entitled to despite the Spanish giants having bought and sold the 16-year-old in the space of the last couple of years.
Barry was said to be unsettled in Spain, despite only being at the Nou Camp for only one season after his switch from the Baggies.
Purslow described the deal as a marquee move for the club, and that it will prove that Villa are back in business.
“Sometimes in business and in sport, sometimes you need a marquee development to signal to the rest of the marketplace that we’re back in business,” he told the Birmingham Mail.
“He was very unsettled and we sensed an opportunity. I’m very grateful to Barcelona who acted incredibly professionally to basically facilitate Louie coming to Aston Villa.
“Imagine what that does for our recruitment potential. It was a statement of intent, I’m very proud of it, but judge my actions in another year’s time.”
West Brom have every right to be disgruntled at Villa and their move for Barry, and they have been contacted by footballing authorities to try and solve their problems – after all, it’s not much to pay within the riches of the Catalan giants.
Barcelona still have got compensation to pay, and that would put an end to all of this. Instead, the Baggies have got to watch Barry compete in similar leagues for one of their biggest rivals.
In other West Brom news, Andy Couzens makes bold promotion prediction involving Leeds after Baggies lose top spot on Saturday