Stan Collymore namechecks one-time West Brom ‘wonder’ in Chelsea tirade
Stan Collymore namechecked former West Brom striker Louie Barry in a rant aimed at Chelsea following their impending sale of Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid.
The pundit referenced Barry in a column for Caught Offside [8 August] as he questioned Chelsea’s decision to let Gallagher go.
Barrie signed a contract extension with Aston Villa last week [2 August] and joined Stockport County on loan for a second spell on the same day, his sixth consecutive loan spell away from Villa Park.
Collymore said: “Louie Barry, a wonder kid at West Brom, goes to Barcelona and then comes back and plays for Villa. As a massive Villa fan, he still wants to play for the club.
“He had a nasty period with injuries and was loaned out five times by Villa, and has now been loaned out again – but the lad desperately wanted to stay.
“He’s a familiar face for the fans, but beyond that in my view he shouldn’t have signed a new contract in the hope of breaking into the Villa first team (which won’t happen) when there were better options available for his career progression.”
Collymore – not exactly a favourite among Albion fans – added: “Conor Gallagher is another one. Four loans in three years before settling down at Chelsea, only to then be pushed out the door by Todd Boehly.”
Louis Barry’s career has stagnated since West Brom exit
Barry was considered one of the brightest prospects in English football at the West Brom academy. That thought was echoed in world football when he ended his ten-year stay at the club to become the first English player to sign for Barcelona’s La Masia academy in 2019.
His stint in Spain was underwhelming and ended after only four months with the striker returning to the West Midlands with Aston Villa.
He scored in his one senior appearance for the club in a 4-1 loss to Liverpool in the FA Cup in 2021, but he has been resigned to loan spells with League One and League Two sides since he returned to England.
Carlos Corberan is facing the biggest challenge of his managerial career with the Baggies and, after the sale of top goalscorer Brandon Thomas-Asante, the club could use all the firepower they can get.
However, Barrie’s career has not quite continued on the trajectory many expected and he is now playing in the lower tiers, rather than helping the Baggies’ push for – hopefully – the play-offs.
When Barry left for Barcelona all those years ago, no one would have believed that West Brom would be too big a step up for him come 2024. It was supposed to be Barry playing at a higher level than the Baggies.
His story is a classic case of the point Collymore is making in his column. Even when he moved to Aston Villa ,there was still promise he would develop into an elite talent.
But rather than staying put and nurturing his development at the academy, he was loaned out season after season to the lower leagues and that now looks likely to be his level for the foreseeable future.
In other West Brom news, the women’s side have made an “exciting” new signing.
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