Sheffield Wednesday might thank Riley McGree if they land Louie Barry ahead of Middlesbrough | OneFootball

Boro and Wednesday have been linked with a January move for Aston Villa's Louie Barry, but could McGree's presence tip the scales in the Owls' favour?

Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday are both reportedly interested in a January move for Aston Villa forward Louie Barry, but a Riley McGree-sized factor might help the Owls beat Boro to his signature.

It's understood that Aston Villa are considering recalling the 21-year-old Barry from his loan deal with League One Stockport County in the new year, with the vision of sending him back out on a temporary switch to the Championship.

Whilst that's reported to not be a certainty at this point, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday have been named as two second tier sides who would be keen on securing a deal for the former Barcelona youngster.

As such, the race for Barry's signature could be one of the stories of the January window as far as the Championship is concerned, and the presence of McGree in the Boro squad could help tip the scales towards the Owls...

Riley McGree's presence on Middlesbrough's left flank may put Barry off Riverside move

Barry has been in superb form whilst on loan with Stockport so far this season, as before December had even begun, the youngster had already surpassed the double-figure goal mark.

As such, should Aston Villa decide to remove him from his already highly successful spell with the Hatters, and send him back out on loan to the Championship, they'd be taking a sizeable risk in regard to disrupting his form and confidence.

Therefore, they'd have to be certain that wherever they send him, he'll be in a favourable situation to continue playing regular football, scoring goals, and improving as a player.

Middlesbrough under Michael Carrick would surely be a prime destination for the young forward to head to then? The Boro boss has a track-record of developing young talent, the two clubs have struck up a mutually beneficial transfer relationship in recent years, and the team look to hold major promotion claims this year.

So what's the catch? Well, in this case, Middlesbrough's strength in depth may well be their undoing should they pursue a deal for Barry in January. The Villa starlet is a versatile player, comfortable operating as a centre-forward, an attacking midfielder in-behind the striker, or out on the left flank.

In Emmanuel Latte Lath and Tommy Conway, Carrick has two excellent centre-forwards battling for one starting spot, so it's difficult to see where the minutes would come from in that department.

Playing in the number 10 role is Finn Azaz, who has been one of the best players in the division so far this season, and so long as he's fit, won't be for budging out of that spot in the starting XI.

However, when not deployed as a centre-forward, his most commonly seen deployed on the left-wing. Occupying that role for Boro is McGree, and whilst he may present as the most beatable to a starting spot out of all the names listed, he's still proven himself to be a quality player at second tier level.

An Australian international, the 26-year-old is a crucial creative cog in Carrick's system, and has always been a player that the Middlesbrough head coach has total confidence in faith in to deliver.

So long as he's fit, rarely is he not the player chosen to start on the left in the Boro side, meaning Barry would still have his work cut out to take his starting spot away from him should he make the switch to Teesside.

Sheffield Wednesday don't boast same strength in depth as Boro, and that could work in their favour in the race for Barry

However, the situation at Hillsborough is different. Danny Rohl has a talented squad, but when it comes to strength in depth, his team - like few in the Championship - have as much strength in depth as Middlesbrough do in attack.

That's something that Wednesday will no doubt want to address in the winter window, and Rohl has already revealed that the club have a focus on bringing in young, talented Premier League players on loan after the success of James Beadle and Shea Charles.

Wednesday have commonly been observed rotating their left-wingers so far this season, with the likes of Anthony Musaba, Marvin Johnson and even Ike Ugbo being deployed in that position.

However, none of those players have really taken that role and made it their own, and as such, Barry would appear to have a real chance at claiming that spot fairly instantly should he opt for a move to the Owls in January.

He certainly wouldn't appear to face the level of competition for a starting role as he would with Middlesbrough, and being at the stage of his career that he's in, getting regular minutes under his belt is the most important thing.

Therefore, he could see Sheffield Wednesday as a more attractive proposition from an individual perspective, and that could hand the Owls the upper hand over Boro in the race for his signature.