Barnsley had a challenging start to their season, being out fought by Mansfield Town on Friday night, and things could be about to get worse for Darrell Clarke’s side.
The Barnsley Chronicle is reporting that their star midfielder Callum Styles could be on his way out of the club, with a bid accepted from West Bromwich Albion. Birmingham City, eager to get out of League One at the first attempt, are also believed to be lining up a move for the 24-year-old Hungarian international.
Manager Clarke, who took over in the summer, admitted the speculation isn’t doing the player any good in the opening days of the season.“One minute it’s close, the next minute it’s not. It’s not doing the lad any favours mentally,” said the former Port Vale boss. “For me, it’s part of football management and you have to adapt.”
The 46-year-old boss, who made his name with Salisbury and Bristol Rovers, has confessed he will still include the player in his squads, until there’s movement on the transfer front.
“I have had a good chat with Stylesy,” he added. “If something manoeuvres, it manoeuvres. If not I know I have got his heart and mind. I won’t cut my nose to spite my face. We understand where we’re both coming from. I won’t cold-shoulder him.”
Styles came through the ranks at Burnley, moving to Bury in 2016. He moved to Barnsley in 2018, returning to the Shakers until the end of the season. He’s had loan spells with Millwall and Sunderland, but has also played 151 times for the Tykes, scoring 13 goals.
Styles, born in Bury, is eligible for Ukraine and Hungary, and in 2022 received his first call-up for the Magyars, making his debut against Serbia. He has since appeared 23 times, including their 4-0 win against England in 2022. He was included in their Euro 2024 squad, but was injured before the tournament and only appeared once, as they beat Scotland 1-0.
Barnsley are still in the market for three strikers, and face a tough trip to Lincoln City this weekend, a side they haven’t beaten in five attempts over the last two seasons. The last time they faced the Imps, they were humiliated 5-1 at Oakwell.
Writer’s View
Losing Styles will be a big blow to Clarke, who is running out of time to add quality to his squad. It’s been a challenging two seasons for Tykes fans, watching them fall short in the play-offs in successive seasons. They collapsed at the end of the last campaign, resulting in Neil Collins being sacked just before the season concluded.
For Styles, if he is going to remain a part of the Hungary setup, a move to the Championship seems like a good idea. He’s proven in his time with them he can compete with Europe’s top stars, so he needs games against Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday, not Mansfield and Stevenage, to keep himself in the limelight.
The big blow for Barnsley will be if he moves to Birmingham rather than West Brom. A switch to a supposed promotion rival would be devastating, and a statement of where they actually are as a club, rather than where fans would like them to be.
Be the first to comment