The Tykes are in need of some fresh additions if they want to go one better this coming season following their play-off final heartbreak in May
After they suffered heartbreak at Wembley in the play-off final back in May, Barnsley will be one of the favourites to be promoted from League One this time around – even without Michael Duff in the dugout.
Duff led the Tykes to a clash with Sheffield Wednesday for a spot in the Championship, but they were struck down in the last moments of extra time to make sure they’d spend another year in the third tier of English football.
Duff has since moved on to Swansea City and in his place comes former EFL centre-back Neill Collins, whose years of experience with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the United States is now being relied upon at Oakwell.
Based on what Collins is doing in pre-season, it looks as though he will adopt the same kind of 3-5-2 system that his predecessor Duff utilised, so that means players will need to be recruited for that system.
And despite cashing in on captain Mads Andersen earlier in the window, it’s unlikely that the Tykes will be splashing the cash.
Therefore, let’s look at four current free agents that could do a job at Oakwell and are realistic potential additions.
Di’Shon Bernard
With Andersen leaving for Luton Town for £3 million earlier in the month, Barnsley need to add to their current defensive options of Liam Kitching,
Conor McCarthy, Robbie Cundy and Kacper Lopata.
And if they want to go for a promising, athletic option at the back then Bernard could really be a coup at League One level following his departure from Man United.
The 22-year-old has EFL experience with Salford City, Hull and Portsmouth and a top-end challenge in the third tier is probably for now his level.
If the four-cap Jamaica international wants to remain in the north of England, then Barnsley could be the perfect landing spot.
Should the Tykes want a more experienced option to play in the middle of Kitching and probably Cundy, then Flint could be their go-to man.
The towering centre-back dropped into League One with Sheffield Wednesday last season after struggling for game-time at Stoke and now finds himself without a club.
Now 34 years of age, Flint has a good record at third tier level, including a 14-goal haul for Bristol City in the 2014-15 season, and he could add lots of experience to a youthful backline at Oakwell.
Armstrong Oko-Flex
Numbers-wise, Barnsley look good in attack with James Norwood, Aaron Leya Iseka, new signings Max Watters and Andy Dallas, Oli Shaw and Devante Cole all to choose from, unless one or two leave – Iseka being the most likely candidate.
If Collins wants to utilise wide players at some point though then it could be useful to land a player who can play through the middle and who can cut in from the flank, and Oko-Flex could be that player.
Released by West Ham, Oko-Flex had an unsuccessful stint with Swansea City in the Championship last season but he needs regular game-time at this stage of his career – the 21-year-old Irishman could be a shrewd pickup for Collins.
Andre Green
Another player who would fit into the category of a winger who can play through the middle is Green, who has plied his trade in South Yorkshire before with Sheffield Wednesday.
The 24-year-old has spent the last two years in Slovakia with Slovan Bratislava and last season scored 11 times in 42 outings in all competitions and was part of their Fortuna Liga-winning side.
He has now returned to England though and is currently on trial with Rotherham United of the Championship, but if he fails to win a deal with the Millers then the Tykes should then swoop.
