Barnsley have been thwarted in their attempts to sign Go Ahead Eagles striker Victor Edvarsen, as reported by Sport Bladet.
The Tykes had seemingly agreed a deal for the 28-year-old, capped by his country in 2023. He was set to make a temporary switch to Oakwell, with a purchase fee of eight million kroner (£950,000) agreed upon completion of the loan.
The player had agreed on personal terms and travelled to South Yorkshire for his medical ahead of a move, but a last-minute change of heart has left Darrell Clarke’s side looking for another option. It’s reported he sailed through his medical, but walked away from the transfer, with ‘family reasons’ cited as a possible reason.
He now returns to the Eredivisie and Go Ahead Eagles, for whom he has six top-flight goals in 33 outings. It leaves Darrell Clarke fewer than 36 hours to find an alternative before the window closes.
Edvarsen has played much of his football in Sweden, coming through the ranks at Goteborg, but making his name in prolific spells with Karlstad BK, Degerfors IF and finally Djurgårdens. It was from there that Go Ahead paid around €700,000 (£590,000) for him in 2023.
Barnsley are on the lookout for players after experiencing a tough summer, losing the likes of Callum Styles, Devante Cole and Herbie Kane. They’ve started their League One campaign reasonably well, with one win, one draw and a defeat. Their boss, Darrell Clarke, admitted losing out on their target was ‘disappointing’.
“It’s disappointing. The news this morning came in and he’s had a change of mind at his end for personal circumstances,” said the former Port Vale boss. “Once I get my head around that, the fact of the matter is I want players that want to be at the football club, it’s as simple as that.
“Rather (it happens) before he sign, then when he had signed, if that makes sense. We move on quickly and we’ve 48 hours to get the right players in.”
Barnsley face recently-promoted Crawley Town this weekend, but by then, Clarke will have hoped to have added to his squad.
Writer’s View
This is a big blow for Barnsley, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they’ve missed out on a target. Bringing a player in from the Eredivisie, and agreeing a fee close to £1 million for a future move, was big news. To now not have that player is a blow, but one they can recover from.
However, it is the repercussion for the replacement that often gets forgotten. Whoever the Tykes bring in now is second choice – there’s no hiding from that, it’s in the public domain. Will a player want to sign, knowing he wasn’t top of the list, or at least knowing everyone knows he wasn’t?
Even if the player does sign, it leaves the fans under no illusions they’ve got their second pick, not their first, which isn’t a good look either.
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