West Brom academy manager explains Louie Barry transfer blunder
West Brom academy manager Richard Stevens has confirmed details of how the Baggies let exciting young striker Louie Barry leave.
Barry was touted as a potential England international from the early stages of his career but he left the West Midlands at the age of 15 for Barcelona.
He has since returned to England from the sunny shores of Spain and now plies his trade at rivals Aston Villa where he scored against Liverpool in the FA Cup last season. Although he has since moved on loan to Ipswich in League One.
Albion detailed what led to Barry leaving for Barca for absolutely nothing in the notes of their latest Albion Assembly meeting.
The notes said: “At the age of 14 players can be offered a scholarship, which is recognised within the UK and secures the player, but this is not recognised by FIFA.
“In order to satisfy FIFA, a further scholarship offer must be made at the age of 15.
“RS (Richard Stevens) confirmed that in the FIFA report regarding Barry, it was clear the second offer was not made. As FIFA does not recognise the offer WBA made at 14, Barry was able to join Barcelona for no fee.
“RS said the club needs to ensure this never happens again.”
The Big Blunder
The worrying part of the whole situation for West Brom was that Barry was allowed to join Barcelona without a fee being paid due to FIFA regulations.
From the Under-9s age group, any player can move freely from team to team with no fee and no pay required from any party.
The difficulties come when players reach the age of 14 in the UK when scholarships can be offered out which then ties players to certain clubs.
FIFA however don’t recognise this scholarship until the players become a 15-year-old and so UK-based clubs have to offer another scholarship just one year after the first was offered out.
This is where The Baggies made their mistake as Stevens revealed that FIFA’s report showed no sign of a second scholarship being offered which allowed Barcelona to swoop in and get their man.
Stevens moved to ensure fans during the latest Assembly Meeting that such a situation would not happen again to ensure the best young players remain at The Hawthorns.
The academy manager also said it is always ‘heart-breaking’ when a young player leaves the club with the hard-working coaches having put so much effort into making them better players and nurturing them as people as they grow up.
In other West Brom news, Joseph Masi has revealed a major update regarding a key Baggies target.