Barnsley plotting double summer transfer swoop for Halifax Town player and 23-year-old League One defender | OneFootball

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Football League World

·5 February 2023

Barnsley plotting double summer transfer swoop for Halifax Town player and 23-year-old League One defender

Article image:Barnsley plotting double summer transfer swoop for Halifax Town player and 23-year-old League One defender

Barnsley are planning to make fresh moves for Burton Albion defender Tom Hamer and Halifax Town youngster Jesse Debrah when their contracts come to an end this summer.

That is according to Alan Nixon on Patreon, who has claimed that the Tykes failed in approaches for both players in the January transfer window, but they will remain on the club’s radar for the start of the 2023-24 season, regardless of the division that they will be plying their trade in.


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Michael Duff’s side currently find themselves sitting in sixth position in the third tier of English football and he wanted to bolster his defence for the final few months of the season.

Duff wanted to bring Hamer in from divisional rivals Burton, having scored three times and notched five assists during the current campaign from a variety of defensive positions, but the Brewers turned down multiple offers for his services.

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Debrah meanwhile, who was linked with a move to Huddersfield Town last summer, has played 22 times in the National League for Halifax this season, scoring once in a 2-0 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge.

The 21-year-old started his career at Millwall before dropping into non-league with Dulwich Hamlet, and his impressive performances for the Shaymen have put him on the radar of Barnsley, who now want to try and take him for nothing in a few months time, although the ages of both Hamer and Debrah would mean that compensation would be required to be paid to both clubs should they secure their signatures.

The Verdict

Barnsley’s starting back five – or back three with wing-backs – is as solid as you are likely to find in League One, but there was the need to add some depth to the squad last month.

Unfortunately for Michael Duff though, Burton Albion were not for budging when it came to Hamer, who would have covered every position across the back line.

If he does not agree to a new contract at the Pirelli Stadium though, the 23-year-old will be free to move to Oakwell at the end of the season should he fancy it, and by that point Barnsley could be in the Championship again.

As for Debrah, he would no doubt like to step back up to the EFL having left Millwall a few years ago now, but he would likely not get any first-team action at Barnsley initially should they land his signature – he could be one that is signed by the Tykes and then immediately loaned out should they land his signature.

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