Barnsley handed Blackpool FC their route into the Championship with transfer decision: View | OneFootball

One recent transfer between Barnsley and Blackpool helped secure the Seasiders promotion to the Championship.

As Barnsley head to Blackpool this Saturday in a League One fixture, one recent transfer between the two sides worked spectacularly well for the Seasiders, helping secure their place back in the Championship.

Australian midfielder Kenny Dougall had an injury-hit time at Oakwell, which sadly cut short his time in the red of Barnsley.

Injuries curtailed Dougall's Barnsley career

After signing from Sparta Rotterdam in July 2018, Dougall initially slotted into manager Daniel Stendel's midfield alongside the likes of Alex Mowatt and Cameron McGeehan, but an ankle injury would rob Dougall of two months of that first season.

After returning from injury to the Barnsley starting lineup, on 18th March 2019, whilst playing away at Doncaster, Dougall suffered a fracture in his leg but carried on playing before finally being substituted. The Reds would go onto win automatic promotion that season, finishing second behind Luton Town, but Dougall's time at Oakwell was coming to an end.

By October 2020, the defensive midfielder played only 12 times in the Championship before moving to Bloomfield Road on a free transfer.

A fresh challenge resulted in Wembley glory

A fresh start at then League One Blackpool reinvigorated Dougall, who played 40 times for the Seasiders during the 2020/21 season, helping them win promotion via the play-off, in which the Australian midfielder played a massive role.

In the first leg of the semi-final at home to Oxford, Dougall scored after 13 minutes to put the Seasiders 2-1 up after a frantic start to the game which ended 3-3. Blackpool ran out 3–0 winners during the second leg, securing their place in the play-off final after a 6-3 aggregate victory.

Dougall's highlight as a Blackpool player would come in the final at Wembley against Lincoln City, scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory that secured Championship football back at Bloomfield Road for the first time in six years.

The following season, Dougall settled well into the Championship, playing 40 times for Blackpool, who finished comfortably in 16th position on 60 points. The midfielder's old side, Barnsley, fared worse, finishing bottom of the league on 30 points behind Derby County, who had been deducted 21 points for breaching EFL rules.

Dougall remained a mainstay of the Blackpool side, playing a further 36 Championship games during the following 2022/23 season, but could not prevent his side from being relegated and therefore returning to League One.

During the 2023/24 season, Dougall played a further 22 games in a Blackpool shirt before abruptly moving to Thai club Buriram United for an undisclosed fee.

During his spell in South Yorkshire, Kenny Dougall was well thought of by the Oakwell faithful. An honest, selfless and hard-working defensive midfielder who did plenty of the unseen work allowing the likes of Alex Mowatt to pull the strings in the Barnsley side.

Dougall became a fans' favourite in the same way at Blackpool. Scoring the two goals at Wembley certainly went a long way to cementing his place in Blackpool folklore, single-handedly winning the club promotion back to the Championship in the process. Blackpool have Barnsley to thank for the transfer which handed the Seasiders a route back to the second tier of English football.