Barnsley supporters may still be confused by repeat of West Ham deal: View | OneFootball

Frank Nouble will not be remembered fondly by Barnsley fans after a poor loan spell which ended goalless for the West Ham forward and then, confusingly, another loan spell at Oakwell Stadium, which was equally disappointing.

Nouble was a part of Chelsea's famous academy but rejected a first-team contract with the Blues and opted to move from West London to East London to sign a five-year contract with West Ham United in July 2009, aged just 17.

The striker went on to make his Premier League debut for the Hammers just one month later. He came off the bench for West Ham legend Carlton Cole in a 2-0 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

After a series of Football League loan moves to West Bromwich Albion, Swindon Town, and Swansea City, where he displayed signs of promise, Nouble made a loan move to Barnsley in January 2011 for the remainder of the 2010/11 season.

Frank Nouble's Barnsley troubles

Barnsley were having a middling season before Nouble made his debut. They were 12th in the EFL Championship after 29 matches played, and they had won as many matches (11) as they had lost.

The Tykes were struggling for goals, having scored only 35 so far, being outscored by a Portsmouth side who were eight places below them and in a relegation battle.

Crucially, Barnsley's play-off hopes were still intact. They were six points off Leeds United in sixth place with a sizable 17 games left to play to bridge the gap.

The club knew that to give themselves the best chance of progressing up the table they would have to bring in more goals. Nouble joined the squad, which boasted future England international star defenders John Stones and Kieran Trippier, to provide that.

Barnsley had over ten recognised strikers in the squad but none of them were firing in many goals. Nouble usurped the likes of Marlon Harewood, Andy Gray, Garry O'Connor, and future Premier League star Chris Wood in the club's pecking order.

Barnsley's manager at the time, Mark Robins, spoke out after signing the striker. He said: "He is a big talent and technically brilliant.

"He's not been seen on this stage yet, but I have no worries about his attacking abilities."

It turns out that Robins should have had worries about the South Londoner's ability to score goals. Nouble started four matches for the Tykes in which he scored zero goals, and made one assist in a 4-1 thrashing by Leicester City.

The striker was sent back to West London in March 2011, just three months after signing, and shipped off to Charlton Athletic on a month-long loan.

Bizarrely, Nouble returned to Oakwell Stadium a year later under Keith Hill with the club in a much worse position in the division, 16th place. They had still not addressed their goalscoring issues either and looked to Nouble for a second chance.

The forward performed no better in his second spell, this time going scoreless in six games, and getting one assist again. He left when they were in 20th place after helping them to one draw in his six appearances.

After Nouble's second and final Barnsley loan spell came to an end, he was released from West Ham at the end of the 2011/12 season upon the expiry of his contract.

The striker joined Wolves but moved on to Ipswich Town after just one season, where he appeared only five times. He then moved to League One club, Coventry City, in September 2014.

Nouble made a baffling move to the now-dissolved Chinese second-tier club Tiānjīn Tiānhǎi before returning to his homeland with Gillingham. Moves to Southend United, Newport County, Colchester United, Plymouth Argyle, Leyton Orient, and Torquay United followed.

The 32-year-old is now playing for former Football League club Yeovil Town, where he has won the first title of his career, winning the 2023/24 National League South.

Nouble has had a long career which has seen him play in three different countries for many different clubs, but his time at Barnsley will certainly not be remembered fondly by fans at Oakwell Stadium.