Stoke City must lean on Mark Robins factor to make Aston Villa, Louie Barry approach.

Stoke City will use the January transfer window to bolster their striking depth for the second half of the season, and the club should take advantage of the lure of respected manager Mark Robins to secure one of the Championship’s most sought-after loan deals in the coming weeks.

The Potters have, without a question, been below average in the final third this season, with 24 league goals scored, which is tied for the fewest in the second division with Plymouth Argyle and Millwall. Stoke have a prolific striker in Tom Cannon, whose loan exploits have been linked with a permanent move to other Championship clubs, but they have lacked attacking input from other areas of the team, particularly wide attacking positions, where Million Manhoef is the club’s top scorer this season with five goals in all competitions.

With the Dutchman presently injured and probably out until March, Stoke must aim to use this month’s transfer window to add goals and assists from wide, and who better to sign to help than in-demand Aston Villa teenager Louie Barry. Barry had a huge success on loan at League One club Stockport County in the first part of the season, and his performances were recognised by Villa, who recalled him to reportedly send him back out to a Championship side. The fight for the 21-year-old’s services is highly contested, but Stoke should believe that they have as good a chance as any team of signing Barry on loan this month, especially given that new boss, Robins, has a reputation of improving players with his coaching methods from his time at Coventry, and the Potters would be able to give him the minutes that he wants from now until May.

Louie Barry would be a real coup for Stoke

Stoke are yet to make any changes in the transfer season, and it appears that the club will focus on loan or free deals in the coming weeks as they balance PSR and FFP. That implies a deal for someone like Barry might be feasible, but the Potters would have to outbid some very tough Championship competition this month for the 21-year-old, who was previously linked with interest in his services by TEAMtalk last month. Barry recorded 16 goals and three assists in 24 appearances for Stockport in the first half of the season, and his strong form saw him earn the League One Player Award of the Month award for both August and November, which led parent club Villa to recall him from the Hatters at the start of this month in order to loan him back out to a Championship side.

The fight for his signature has began to heat up, with Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County naming themselves as interested parties, while TEAMtalk previously reported that QPR, Sheffield United, and Coventry City are also interested in making a move alongside Stoke. The list of his suitors has only grown, with Hull City and Millwall recently joining the queue for his services, but the sheer volume of interest in the 21-year-old suggests that he could join any second-tier club this month, as no club has emerged as a front-runner for his signature.

Stoke are currently quite thin out wide as a result of Manhoef’s absence, with Lewis Koumas and Bae Jun-ho starting practically every game in recent months due to Andre Vidigal’s lack of favour under both Steven Schumacher and Narcis Pelach this season. Injury-plagued summer signing Sam Gallagher has also played on the wing for the Potters, as has versatile full-back Lynden Gooch, but the Potters need to add much more output from wide areas to supplement the goals of Leicester loanee Cannon, while Manhoef is expected to be out for up to two months. Barry would be the perfect signing to add to their weak offence, but whether Stoke can get a deal over the line likely hinges on how much interest the player himself has in a move to North Staffordshire.

Mark Robins could play a huge part in luring Barry to the Potteries

Mark Robins’ successes at Coventry have not gone unnoticed by the rest of the football world, and the decision-makers at Aston Villa will undoubtedly be aware of the pedigree and remarkable track record of player development that he brings to Stoke from his time with the Sky Blues. Robins is highly regarded in the Championship, having guided Coventry to the second tier from League Two, then established the club in the league and brought them within a kick of Premier League football in the 2023 play-off final, as well as an FA Cup semi-final last season. During that period, he was able to collaborate with the Sky Blues’ board to identify minimal risk, high reward players that he felt would improve their chances of success, with players such as Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer brought in for low transfer fees and duly sold on for big money. The former is now one of the hottest properties in world football.

Players like the aforementioned duo, Callum O’Hare, Leo Ostigard, Ben Sheaf, Conor Chaplin, Callum Doyle, and even Ephron Mason-Clark, who was recently named the Championship Player of the Month for December, can be considered commodities brought to the CBS Arena by Robins and have gone on to improve tenfold as players from humble beginnings. Stoke have also recently had a positive working relationship with Aston Villa, having signed talented winger Jaden Philogene on a similar January loan deal in 2022, and he impressed at the bet365 Stadium under Alex Neil before moving on to Cardiff City and Hull City.

Philogene is now set to earn the Villans a sizable sum of money in a reported £20 million transfer to Ipswich Town, to which the Potters can count as minor contributors, and Villa will undoubtedly consider his success in the Potteries when looking for a suitable club to loan quick winger Barry to in a critical stage of his development over the next few months. With everything considered, Stoke would still regard Barry’s signing as a big coup for their Championship future, but they must push to complete the deal in the coming weeks if they want to give themselves the best chance of climbing up the table and away from the fear of relegation this season.

Read more on sportupdates.co.uk