"If I was Louie Barry" - Pundit urges Aston Villa ace to snub Leeds United and Middlesbrough for Sunderland | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer spoke exclusively to Football League World about the second-tier transfer race for Aston Villa's Louie Barry

Pundit and former England international Carlton Palmer has encouraged in-demand Aston Villa forward Louie Barry to join Sunderland amid interest from the likes of Leeds United and Middlesbrough.

The 21-year-old is poised to head to the Championship this month after being recalled from a highly-productive second loan spell with Stockport County, which has seen him attract widespread interest.

Barry, who scored 15 goals in 23 League One matches for the Hatters before returning to Villa Park this week, is now set to be offloaded by Unai Emery on a permanent basis - according to fresh reports - offering something of a twist considering the prior expectation that he would be loaned out to a higher level. It's believed that Villa are looking to make space in their squad and raise funds in accordance with profit and sustainability rules, which has opened the door to a permanent exit from the Second City

He has no shortage of suitors, with reports linking each of the Championship's current top-four in Leeds, Burnley, Sheffield United and Sunderland to his signature, while Middlesbrough and Derby County have both also been touted as admirers.

Barry has a wealth of admirers - and for good reason.

The versatile forward, who is most at home wide-left of a front three but can operate centrally, was electric in League One and appears every bit capable of making the natural transition to the Championship, though given his age and just how integral he was at Edgeley Park, frequent first-team football is sure to prove decisive as he weighs up his next destination and that's exactly why Palmer has tipped Sunderland as the best club for his development.

Sunderland, of course, are spearheaded by a youth-centred approach to recruitment from owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and chairman Kristjaan Speakman, who have built the Championship's youngest squad by measure of average age over the last three campaigns.

They're now seeing the fruits of their labour, too - Sunderland are fourth in the league after 25 matches, despite operating on a considerably lower budget than their counterparts in the hunt for automatic promotion. Such factors could well make the Stadium of Light an extremely attractive destination for Barry in the coming days and weeks.

"Yeah, this was really disappointing for Stockport County to hear that Louie Barry was being recalled to his parent club Aston Villa, and the talk was that he was going to be loaned out to a Championship club," Palmer exclusively told Football League World.

"It's clear now that Villa intend to sell Barry, they're concerned about the financial fair play situation so it's reported that they're looking to sell with the likes of Sunderland, Leeds United and Middlesbrough interested.

"I would think for Barry, he wants to go somewhere where he's going to play. In the Championship, you're looking at Leeds, Sunderland and Boro and they're all at the top-end of the league. Leeds are top of the tree, Sunderland you know what they do, they sign good young players and move them on for big money.

"I think it will be interesting for Leeds to see what they do with Patrick Bamford and whether they keep him until the end of the season. (Joel) Piroe has just started scoring again, they need another striker but Barry won't want to sit on the bench.

"So I would think the favourites to sign him would be somewhere like Sunderland, where he will be guaranteed more first-team football. Obviously he'd been playing regular football and he won't want to sit on the bench at any club.

"We'll have to wait and see. Depending on the fee, Stockport could make a bid for him but if Premier League and top Championship clubs are interested then it will be hard for them to compete.

"If I was Louie Barry, I would be looking at where I can get first-team football, where I fancy my chances to play regularly at a club that will give young players a chance, and that's Sunderland at this moment in time."

Aston Villa's Louie Barry could be a game-changer signing for Sunderland

Although Barry still lacks experience above League One level - for the time being, that is - there is little doubt over just how well his profile will translate to Championship football, and it's telling that those targeting a move are firmly within the promotion reckoning.

Barry is blessed with frightening speed and excels when given space to charge forward at opposition full-backs, while his natural agility and control in tight spaces enable him to evade challenges at will and his ball-striking quality is outstanding, leading to many impressive strikes from range over the last two seasons.

His transition into an inside forward in-possession makes him an ideal candidate on the left-hand side of Regis Le Bris' frontline, which is a problem position for Sunderland at the minute following long-term injury setbacks to Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson.

Eliezer Mayenda has filled in wide-left with mixed results, while Adil Aouchiche - who has spent much of the campaign in exile following the appointment of Le Bris - has also played out of position there in the last two games, failing to impress.

Any deal certainly makes a lot of sense. Sunderland would be able to offer regular minutes and potentially even top-flight football next term, and they have an esteemed track record for trusting, developing and then selling young talent for a premium price, while Barry is a superb talent who would instantly offer a fresh dimension to the Mackems' attack, addressing a sore spot in which they are short of quality, available options, and he could go on to make all the difference in their promotion bid.