According to a report by the Barnsley Chronicle, Barnsley “may” loan out one of Barry Cotter, Kyran Lofthouse, or Corey O’Keeffe for the upcoming campaign.
After losing to Bolton Wanderers in the play-off semi-final, Barnsley is preparing for a new season in League One. The Trotters then fell to Oxford United 2-0 at Wembley over the weekend, with two goals from Josh Murphy.
Since they fired Neill Collins last month, the Tykes are currently without a permanent manager. Martin Devaney served as interim manager at the end of the previous campaign, and the team is currently looking for a replacement.
The Barnsley Chronicle reports that because the Yorkshire team doesn’t actually require three right-backs in its lineup, they may look to make a temporary exit for Cotter, Lofthouse, or O’Keeffe this summer. Removing one would make room and money available to add a new player in a different role.
The Barnsley defence strategy
Cotter is under contract at Oakwell until June 2026, having been signed by Barnsley back in January 2023.
During the previous season, he participated in 40 games across all competitions and scored four goals.
The former Essex Town player was a Shamrock Rovers player in Ireland before joining his current team.
The 23-year-old Lofthouse signed a three-year contract with the Tykes in July of last year.
He has only made three appearances for their first team, though. In order to gain some experience in the game, he was loaned out to Gateshead and then MK Dons last term.
The Oxford United player began his career at the hometown team before spending two years at Woking in the National League.
Regarding O’Keeffe, he has been a consistent member of Barnsley since joining them just under a year ago after leaving Forest Green Rovers.
The Birmingham City academy alumnus, who also played for Mansfield Town and Rochdale, has three goals in 45 games for the Tykes.
Who is going to leave Barnsley?
It seems like Lofthouse is the most probable of the three players to go out on loan.
Under Collins, Cotter and O’Keeffe both had a lot of playing time last term, so it would be shocking to see one of them leave.
The choice, though, will ultimately come down to the person Barnsley hires to lead the team.
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