Celtic consider permanent 'swoop' for Sunderland and Leeds United transfer target - report

Celtic are the latest club to join the race for reported Sunderland target Louie Barry, it has been claimed.

The Aston Villa winger is understood to be in demand this month, with a number of Championship sides credited with an interest in taking him on loan from Villa Park after he was recalled from a previous stint with League One outfit Stockport County last month.

Over the course of the first half of the campaign, Barry registered 15 goals and assisted three more across 23 outings in the third tier. That return was enough to convince Villa to conclude his stay at Edgeley Park prematurely, but since then, manager Unai Emery has been coy about where the 21-year-old’s future might lie.

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Speaking ahead of Villa's FA Cup third round clash with West Ham last week, the Spaniard said: "[Barry] trained with us and we are going to make a plan with him, an overall plan. I think he is a very good player who is progressing well. He has been on loan doing fantastic. Now we can have a new plan with him. He improved because he was scoring a lot of goals on loan. With us he only trained today and yesterday. Of course we are going to try and get a good plan for the club with him."

Now, however, Football Insider have delivered an update on the tussle for Barry, suggesting that Glaswegian giants Celtic are “eyeing a potential swoop” for the player. It is stated that the Hoops are considering a permanent bid for the Villa starlet, and are particularly eager to secure reinforcements on the left wing this winter, with Luis Palma set to join Rayo Vallecano on an initial loan.

Alongside Celtic and Sunderland, Championship sides Leeds United, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Middlesbrough, Millwall, and Coventry City have all been credited with interest in the attacker at various points in recent weeks.