Barnsley's January stance on Middlesbrough, Stoke and Swansea target is the right risk to take: View | OneFootball

It seems as though one player who will be attracting plenty of attention and speculation between now and the end of the January transfer window, is Barnsley striker Devante Cole.

With his goals having helped fire the Tykes all the way to the League One play-off final last season, where they were denied promotion by a last minute Sheffield Wednesday goal, the 28-year-old is again making an impact in the current campaign.

So far this season, Cole has scored 12 goals in 19 League One outings for the Tykes, meaning they are currently seventh in the third-tier standings, just two points adrift of the play-offs.

That though, has already seen the striker linked with a number of other clubs, with it being reported earlier in the campaign that the Championship trio of Middlesbrough, Stoke City and Swansea City, are all plotting January moves for the forward.

Now however, it seems as though it will not be easy for any of those clubs to secure the services of Cole, even once the window has opened again at the turn of the year.

Barnsley taking strong stance over Cole

Given the form he is in, and the significance of those links, Barnsley manager Neill Collins has inevitably been asked about Cole's future ahead of the January window.

But while he is aware that such interest in the striker is likely, it seems the club are ready to play hardball over the potential sale of the striker next month.

Responding to those questions about the future of the 28-year-old, Collins insisted that it will take a "serious sum" to prise Cole away from Oakwell in the middle of the current campaign.

Cole may be too important for Barnsley to sell in January

As things stand, Cole's current contract with Barnsley is set to expire at the end of the current season.

That of course, means that the January transfer window is currently set to be their last chance to receive any sort of fee for the striker.

However, if the Tykes are to demand what Collins has suggested will be a big fee for the sale of the 28-year-old, those interested clubs may be reluctant to pay such a price, for a player they know they will be able to sign for nothing, just a few months later.

Consequently, there is a possibility that taking this stance over Cole, could lead to Barnsley losing one of their most valuable players for free in the summer.

Yet despite that, Cole's importance to their current push for promotion means that is surely a chance they have to take.

While he has scored 12 league goals for Barnsley since the start of the season, no other player has found the net on more than three occasions in League One since the campaign began.

Those figures therefore do highlight just how crucial keeping Cole, and the goals he provides, could be to any chance the Tykes have of picking up the wins they need to get a shot at a return to the Championship this season.

Beyond that, the extra funds that would be brought into Oakwell, through prize money, increased television funds and greater gate receipts through bigger crowds in a higher division, would no doubt be greater than the fee they would generate from simply selling Cole in January, and harming those promotion chances.

As a result, if they can keep the striker around until the summer in order to give them the best possible chance of winning promotion, the money that could bring in would potentially offset any loss they are hit with by losing him on a free.

It is also worth noting that moving up a division, could potentially also give Barnsley the best possible chance of extending Cole's contract, and making more money on him in the future as well.

So with all that in mind, it is hard not to feel that taking the risk of losing Cole for nothing by standing firm on his future in January, gives Barnsley the best chance possible, of enjoying an even more sizeable windfall, further down the line.