Aston Villa have signed the 16-year-old striker Louie Barry from Barcelona less than six months after he joined the Spanish champions.
Barry joined Barça from West Brom in July after reportedly having a medical with Paris Saint-Germain. The England youth international made only 10 appearances for Barça’s youth teams after his registration was delayed, with West Brom understood to have never received £235,000 in compensation despite the club reporting the matter to Fifa.
Announcing Barry’s signing for a fee believed to be around £900,000, the Villa academy manager, Mark Harrison, said: “It sends a powerful message about the ambition of this club. We’re delighted – Louie is a local person and his family are all Villa fans, as is Louie.
“He is still a very young man but as he’s developed, he’s always been one player that you always recognise as having outstanding attributes. He’s got a fantastic mentality, he’s desperate to do well for this club.
“He’s really driven, he’s got great family support, but in terms of what he can achieve, we firmly believe he can be an outstanding number nine.”
Newcastle are close to signing Valentino Lazaro. The Austria midfielder is due to join on an initial loan from Internazionale with an option to make his move permanent for £20m at the end of the season. Victor Moses has signed for Inter on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season.
