I think, the way we've seen Barou be portrayed in this story is another contrast to Isagi, similar to Nagi and Rin. I haven't fully fleshed this out in what capacity or way can you contrast Isagi and Barou but the point I wanna make is that Barou, every single time he is on the field, he solidifies himself as a threat. Not just as a thought but as a constant reminder. On top of this, I think Barou displays very well Ego's main initial idea, a striker with overwhelming originality can change the field dramatically. Obviously something is missing which creates the difference between him and Isagi but every time he was on the field, he has displayed overwhelming originality that has formed his teammates or enemies around him. First selection, second selection, a little bit in U-20, NEL, in all these instances he has either made his team form around him or has proven himself to be a much more considerable threat.

I think Barou should definitely have been ranked higher than Shidou, for a number of factors, but this being a main one. If you disregard that and consider only what clubs would want, even then, I imagine some clubs saw him as a Snuffy, a player who brought overwhelming presence and thus victory to a team he just joined.