A raft of Championship clubs, including Leeds United, have been linked with a January move for Aston Villa forward Louie Barry. Yorkshire neighbours Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday are also said to be interested in signing the player amid mounting speculation that Villa will recall the exciting attacker from his loan spell at Stockport County in 2025 and look to test him at a higher level.

Queens Park Rangers, Derby County and Middlesbrough have also been named as potential destinations for Barry as the January transfer window draws ever closer. The 21-year-old was named League One's player of the month for November, having bagged 15 goals in 21 matches this term.

County boss Dave Challinor told BBC Radio Manchester: "When you take a player on loan, especially from a Premier League club, the reality is you know what you're getting going into.

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"We obviously hope that he can stay with us and score another 15 goals in the back end of the season and quite selfishly say that monetises his value more than going to a Championship club and not playing the same amount of minutes that he's having here. That's a decision that's out of our control."

Barry, who played a starring role in Stockport's promotion last term, failed to get on the scoresheet at the weekend as Challinor's men crashed to a surprise 2-1 defeat at Stevenage. County are fifth in League One, nine points off the automatic promotion places with the halfway point of the season approaching.