Update emerges on Louie Barry situation at Hull City amid stint away from Aston Villa | OneFootball

Louie Barry made the switch to Hull City on loan for the rest of the season in the January transfer window

Ruben Selles has provided a fitness update on Louie Barry following his first Hull City start last weekend.

The Aston Villa loanee was brought into the club during the January transfer window after a protracted saga surrounding his future.

The 21-year-old made his Hull debut on 2 February, coming off the bench in a 2-1 loss to Stoke City.

He had to wait another two weeks before making his first start, but he lasted just 57 minutes in the team’s 1-1 draw with Norwich City.

Selles provides Barry fitness update

Selles has claimed that it will take time for Barry to get fully up to speed for the Championship, having spent the first half of the campaign in League One.

He believes that everything will click into place at some point soon, but that patience is needed until then, particularly given he is also just returning from an injury issue.

"He did really well, especially in the first half," Selles told Hull Live.

"We spoke about it in the press conference about how we can build them [up to fitness], and that kind of player like Louie with no experience in the Championship and coming back from the injury before he went back to Aston Villa.

"After 45 to 50 minutes of his performance, his physical levels dropped, and we cannot allow the team to have a player drop those physical levels, so he will be fine.

“He will continue evolving, and I think he did a good performance.

"He's always a threat when he has the ball, and hopefully, that performance will transform into assists and goals, and he will be as good as any other in the league.

"I expected it to take relative time, so I didn't expect him to arrive and immediately smash the league.

“I know he's a really good player.

"There's going to be a moment when he's going to get that movement right, and he's going to get that finishing right, and that is going to unlock something.

“It always goes like that, but to arrive at that point, you sometimes need to suffer a little bit, and I think he will be fine, and he will be important for us."

Barry’s impressive League One form

Barry spent the first half of the campaign on loan with Stockport County, where he contributed 15 goals and three assists from 23 appearances.

The step up to Hull is his first foray into the Championship, where he will be looking to keep the Tigers from suffering relegation.

Selles’ side sit 21st in the table, just one point clear of the relegation zone.

Hull can’t afford to wait too long for Barry

Expecting Barry to make an immediate impact might have been too much, but he will need to start making an impact soon.

He is only at the club on loan for a few months, and Hull are in danger of relegation to League One.

Given the massive chase for his signature in January, he has to start living up to the billing before the end of the campaign.

Selles is managing his minutes and expectations, protecting the player, which is good management, but it will be interesting to see how patient supporters will be if they continue to be at risk of sliding into the bottom three.