Early career

Barry played for local Sutton Coldfield side, Sutton United as an under-8 where he played with future teammate Tim Iroegbunam.^[6] Barry joined the West Bromwich Albion academy at the age of six and by 2018, had progressed to the U21 squad.^[7]

Barcelona

After spending ten years with West Bromwich Albion, Barry signed a three-year contract with Spanish club Barcelona in July 2019.^[2][7] He had previously been close to signing for French club Paris Saint-Germain.^[8] He became the first English player to join La Masia.^[9] In September 2019 it was announced that Albion were going to report Barcelona to FIFA over the transfer, claiming that they had not received the compensation they were due.^[10] Barcelona contested this, however, stating that they did not believe that his scholarship for Albion had any international standing, and that they would wait for the verdict from FIFA.^[11] He subsequently had to wait three months for his international registration to be confirmed which meant he missed the first seven matches of the Barcelona under-19 season.^[12] A judge ultimately ruled in favour of Barcelona and in November 2021 stated that Albion were due no further compensation.^[13]

Barry made his debut for Barcelona's under-19 side in October 2019, scoring on his first start, in a 6–0 victory against Ebro.^[14] He made ten competitive under-19 appearances in the league and UEFA Youth League for Barcelona in the 2019–20 season, scoring twice.^[15] His side were declared U19 league champions in May 2020, a few months after Barry left the club, after the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed the youth season.^[16]

Aston Villa

In January 2020 he held talks with Aston Villa,^[17] signing for them later that month for a fee of £880,000,^[18] which could rise to £3.5m with add-ons. Barry signed a three-year contract, as this is the maximum allowed for a player of his age – with an agreement of an automatic further three years at the end of that.^[19] He made his debut for the club's U23 team on 23 January, shortly before he was officially unveiled by the Midlands club. He came on to score the equaliser in a 2–1 win over Cardiff City.^[20] In June he spent time training with the Aston Villa first team,^[21] then made a first appearance in the EFL Trophy with the club's under-21 side four months later.^[22]

On 8 January 2021, after ten of Villa's first-team players tested positive for COVID-19, Barry was selected to make his debut in the FA Cup third round against Liverpool.^[23] Barry scored to equalise the game at 1–1, before Liverpool went on to win 4–1.^[24] Barry's performance prompted the Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, to refer to the youngster as "Little Jamie Vardy"^[25] The goal was voted 'Goal of the Round' by BBC Sport readers.^[26] On 24 May, Barry was part of the Aston Villa U18 squad that won the FA Youth Cup, beating Liverpool U18s 2–1 in the final.^[27] On 7 July, Villa announced that they had exercised an option in Barry's contract to automatically extend it until 2024.^[28]