Town boss Kieran McKenna says he is speaking with on-loan Aston Villa forward Louie Barry about the best option for the 18-year-old going forward, the youngster having appeared very fleetingly in the first half of the campaign.
Barry has made only four starts, just one in the league, and two sub appearances for Town having signed on loan in August.
The former West Brom and Barcelona youngster’s last appearance for the Blues came in the Papa John’s Trophy tie against Colchester in early November with his previous action a month prior to that in the same competition at Gillingham.
As a result, the England U18 international has been widely tipped for a return to Villa Park in January with the Premier League side then expected to send him out for another spell, with League Two Swindon reportedly keen.
Asked about the Sutton Coldfield-born attacker’s situation, McKenna said: "Louie’s been training with us. He’s been training well. Louie is a player I know from watching academy football and watching England youths.
"He’s obviously a talented boy. He hasn’t played as much football as he would have hoped to have done but also will have learned an awful lot from his first move. I’ve had a couple of good discussions with him.
"I think the first loan move is very often about the experiences that you pick up off the pitch and everyone at the club speaks very highly of Louie and how he has conducted himself, and he’s positive about the experience that he’s had.
"We’re having conversations with Louie and he’s training with us, and we’re continuing to speak to him about what the best option for him is going forward.”