Claim made on Barnsley star's future amid Cardiff City and Huddersfield interest | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Barnsley have a fight on their hands to secure the long-term future of Devante Cole with his contract expiring at the end of this season.

The Tykes are currently in a League One promotion battle with Portsmouth, Derby County, Bolton Wanderers, and Peterborough United - all five sides are fighting for the top two spots in League One, and Barnsley will hope they can go one better than last season, which was a defeat in the play-off final.

The South Yorkshire side’s hopes will be hanging on the shoulders of Cole, who has been Barnsley’s standout player this season.

The forward has so far scored 17 goals in 37 League One appearances, averaging a goal every 178 minutes of football, as per Sofascore.com.

His importance is clear to see, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed, with teams like Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town reported to have held an interest in the player in January.

So, while focus will remain on what is happening on the pitch, attention will soon need to turn to Cole’s contract, as it expires at the end of this season - and a new agreement needs to be reached if he is to stay at Barnsley beyond this summer.

Devante Cole’s future at Barnsley

Football League World’sBarnsley fan pundit Andy Symcox has issued his thoughts on Cole’s future at the club and is hopeful that the striker will show some loyalty to the Tykes by giving them at least another season of his services.

Andy told FLW: “Regarding Devante Cole, he is also out of contract in the summer. He is the second leading goalscorer in League One this season, having been the top goalscorer for many weeks until recently.

“Whether or not he remains - if we do not get promotion - is anyone’s guess. I would hope that he would want to repay the loyalty we showed when he was going through a lean time a couple of seasons ago.

“But if he does decide to sign elsewhere, then he will go with my best wishes.

"It is worth noting that in January, there was a great deal of speculation that we would sell Devante Cole, Nicky Cadden, Herbie Kane, and Jordan Williams, all of whom are out of contract this summer.

"But the board did not sell any of those assets, so we could have a push to get promotion this season yet again. I would hope that most of these players, if not all, would be up for another attempt next season.

“It is inevitable that other clubs will be linked with our players out of contract in the summer, and it is no surprise to have read many links towards Devante Cole in the January transfer window.

"However, I tend personally to take no notice whatsoever of transfer window links. I much prefer to look at whether a firm bid has been made or rejected.”

Devante Cole will likely be weighing up his options

Devante Cole very much holds all the cards at this present time, as he is the one in charge of his future.

The forward knows it will be down to him whether he wants to stay at Oakwell or not. Therefore, Barnsley will just be waiting for the player’s decision, but they can also help him sway towards signing a new contract.

If the Tykes seal promotion to the Championship, there is a good chance that the player repays the faith shown in him and signs a new contract, as he will want to test himself in the second tier.

However, if promotion isn’t secured, Cole could look to leave the Yorkshire side, as Championship teams will likely be interested once again, and he would surely look to join one of them this time.

Cole hasn't had any success at Championship level in his career, scoring just the once for his current club in 2021-22 at the level, and when at Wigan Athletic he was loaned away from the club without appearing in the second tier.

Barnsley are in a very difficult position, but they will hope success between now and the end of the campaign can help their cause when it comes to securing his long-term future.