England youth international Louie Barry scored on his first start for Barcelona’s U19s on Sunday after being forced to wait three months to make his competitive debut for the Catalan club.
Barry, 16, joined Barca from West Bromwich Albion in July and made an immediate impression with three goals in preseason. However, a delay in processing his registration with FIFA meant he had to sit out the first seven games of the season.
The forward eventually received international clearance earlier this month and made his first appearance as a substitute in a 2-0 win against San Francisco. Coach Franc Artiga, who recently replaced Victor Valdes, then handed him his full debut in a 6-0 win over Ebro at the weekend.
Barry, who is the first English player to ever board at the famed La Masia academy, scored the fifth goal in the victory, cutting in from the left before finishing in the top corner.
United States youth international Konrad de la Fuente, who is two years older than Barry, was on target twice, while there were also goals for Alex Rico, Gerard ‘Peque’ Fernandez and Xavier Mbuyamba.
Barcelona fought off competition from Paris Saint-Germain and a string of Europe’s top clubs to complete the signing of Barry in the summer. There was more money on offer elsewhere, but the player and his family were impressed with the Blaugrana’s plans for his development.
He found the back of the net three times in preseason, linking particularly well with Ansu Fati, who is now a regular in Barca’s first team, during two friendlies against Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia in August.
(Image: FC Barcelona/Twitter)
Next up for Barca is a home game against league leaders Real Zaragoza, before they welcome Slavia Prague in the UEFA Youth League, a competition they have won twice since its creation in 2013.
Barry is also part of the England U17 team preparing for next year’s European Championships. He will link up with Kevin Betsy’s squad in November for games against Denmark and the Czech Republic. Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott and Celtic’s Karamoko Dembele are also part of an exciting young team.
