Aston Villa are edging significantly closer to making a final decision on what they plan to do with highly-rated and much sought after youngster Louie Barry, with a host of Championship clubs waiting to discover plans for the player. The 21-year-old winger is one of the hottest properties in football right now outside of the Premier League, after setting League One alight while on loan at Stockport County.

Barry bagged 15 goals in 23 League One games for Stockport County in the first half of the season to have the Edgeley Park club firmly involved in the race for promotion to the Championship. Villa have recalled the player from that loan in an effort to send him to a Championship club for the rest of the season where he can be tested at a higher level and continue his progress.

The likes of Sheffield United, Derby County and Hull City have all reportedly made their interest known, as have Leeds United. There have been some suggestions Leeds are in fact leading the chase for the winger, however that does not appear to be the case.

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While a chance to compete at the top end of the Championship would be an ideal test for a player with a growing reputation, Hull City are understood to be increasingly confident they can lure Barry to the MKM Stadium to be part of their fight against relegation.

Barry is likely to be guaranteed more game time at Hull than at Leeds, who already boast a wealth of talent out wide, but it is a past working relationship which the Tigers hope will fall in their favour. Hull City have built strong ties with Aston Villa in the past two years following the purchase and then sale back to the Premier League side of Jaden Philogene, with the two clubs having previously enjoyed a good working relationship.

Born in Sutton Coldfield, Barry spent a decade at West Brom before his high-profile move to the Nou Camp, where he spent two years, and in the process, becoming the first Englishman to join the Spanish giant's famed La Masia academy but joined Villa in January 2020 for a fee around £880,000 rising to £3.5m.