Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit tips Middlesbrough & West Brom to take advantage of Hull City, Louie Barry saga | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie believes clubs towards the top end of the Championship should hijack a summer move for Louie Barry.

Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie has backed the likes of Middlesbrough, West Brom and Birmingham City to all attempt to hijack a deal for Louie Barry, given his move to Hull City has stalled.

According to The Athletic, issues with the "affordability" of the deal have cropped up, which was said to include a 50% sell-on clause in Aston Villa's favour.

As a result, it has been revealed that the Tigers may now struggle to meet the terms of the agreement as well as pay Barry's wages.

There’s also a major worry about the Tigers’ financial situation, with it reported that the East Yorkshire-based outfit have been placed under a transfer embargo until 2027.

This, in turn, has led to Louie Barry’s proposed move to the MKM Stadium now being up in the air, after Hull had previously agreed a deal worth £3.5m for the 22-year-old.

Lee Hendrie backs Middlesbrough, West Brom and Birmingham City to pursue Louie Barry

In a transfer saga that has tilted to both sides of the pendulum, Lee Hendrie has weighed in with his thoughts about teams that should try use this development to their advantage and strike a deal.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, the ex-Aston Villa footballer turned pundit has backed the likes of Middlesbrough, West Brom and Birmingham City to make a move to sign Barry, now his proposed move to Hull City has gone up in smoke.

Hendrie said: “I think with this deal at Hull, the breakdown might be down to wages, the transfer fee, and this is the problem most Championship clubs are going to struggle to contend with.

“If you’re looking at clubs that might hijack this then you’re probably looking at the top end of the Championship, someone like a Middlesbrough.

"West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City have also been linked; a number of clubs that have got stacks of potential, money to really spend this season - that’ll be the clubs that will probably be looking to hijack this deal.

“I think they should. Louie Barry is a fantastic player, he’s shown that jumping down the leagues at Stockport. I know taking that step up at Hull and getting injured was a bit of a backwards step, but he’s got stacks of abilities, plays in a number of positions in a number 10, out wide and through the middle.

"So I think it will be appealing to most of the top-end Championship clubs to hijack this deal.”

Louie Barry can be a success in the Championship despite opening struggles

It’s a second chance for a lot of Championship teams to acquire Barry after his first-choice move to Hull seems to have shattered in front of his eyes.

The former Barcelona man has shown he knows where the back of the net is during his time at Stockport, and will be desperate to show he does have what it takes to make the step-up to the second tier after a short and disrupted spell.

At 22, he still has a lot more room to grow and develop into a second tier superstar, and if he can hit the ground running in a team winning more often than they lose, then it will only benefit his game and see his attacking contributions soar.