Devante Cole’s Barnsley form has attracted plenty of interest this season
For many clubs, the summer transfer window will be the primary focus during the next two months.
With the season completed, clubs can begin to consider the business they want to do in the market for the 2024/25 campaign.
At this point, however, certain clubs still do not know which level they will play in next season, as they compete for promotion in the coming weeks.
This, in turn, will have significant implications for the transfer window, since whether or not clubs are successful in the play-offs will influence both which players they can sign and keep.
Such circumstances give an interesting subtext to the final battle for promotion, which provided plenty of drama on Tuesday night.
Barnsley suffered play-off heartbreak against Bolton.
Barnsley suffered a 3-1 loss to Bolton Wanderers in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final, leaving them with a difficult task away from home in the second leg.
With that game on Tuesday, the Tykes started brightly, going 1-0 up, only to fall behind 2-1 at halftime.
That meant the Yorkshire club needed three unanswered goals in the tie’s last 45 minutes to force extra time.
However, they were unable to produce a third goal, after scoring two through Adam Phillips and Sam Cosgrove.
As a result, Barnsley found themselves beaten 5-4 on aggregate by Bolton, ending the Tykes’ hopes of promotion, and condemning them to another season in League One.
Beyond the disappointment of missing out on a return to the Championship, there is an argument this will also serve as a blow to Barnsley when it comes to one key player, something that could benefit one of a number of clubs currently in the Championship.
Barnsley may now struggle to keep Devante Cole
One man who has been a key figure for the Tykes throughout the course of the campaign, is Devante Cole.
The striker scored 16 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions last season, and then built on that from a personal perspective this time around.
Throughout the course of the most recent campaign, Cole has added a further 18 goals in 49 outings in total for Barnsley.
| Devante Cole 2023/24 League One record for Barnsley – from SofaScore | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 46 |
| Goals | 18 |
| Shots on Target per Game | 1 |
| Assists | 3 |
| Pass Success Rate | 69% |
| Balls Recovered per Game | 1.7 |
| Dribble Success Rate | 33% |
| Duel Success Rate | 36% |
Cole has been attracting interest from second-tier clubs including Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Swansea City, Bristol City, Hull City, and Cardiff City.
The fact that Barnsley missed out on promotion to the Championship will undoubtedly be excellent news for those clubs interested in the striker.
Cole’s contract with Barnsley will expire at the conclusion of the season, making him eligible for free transfer.
If the Tykes had gained promotion back to the Championship, they could have been able to persuade the striker to sign a new deal at Oakwell, given the additional football and financial incentives they might have offered.
However, now that that is not going to happen, Barnsley may struggle to persuade Cole to stay in Yorkshire.
Those aforementioned relationships with clubs already in the second division mean that, with the Tykes missing out on promotion, a move elsewhere is his sole hope of moving up to the next level.
Barnsley’s promotion dreams ended on Tuesday night with a 5-4 aggregate defeat to Bolton.
It may come as a surprise to see Cole sign a new contract at Oakwell, allowing interested clubs to move to bring him in for nothing.
Of course, consistent goal scorers are a rare commodity that appears to be in short supply. Bringing in someone like Cole to fill that role on a free transfer is undoubtedly an intriguing prospect for many of the Championship clubs associated with the Barnsley player.
With that in mind, Tuesday night’s events at Bolton appear to have provided a significant assist to those Championship clubs’ summer transfer ambitions.
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