How Barnsley FC have reacted to Wycombe Wanderers' Luca Connell transfer bid | OneFootball

Wycombe have made a move to try and snap up the midfielder.

Barnsley have turned down a bid from League One rivals Wycombe Wanderers for Luca Connell.

Conor Hourihane's first full season in charge at Oakwell is going to be a challenging one. To get the team challenging for promotion, as they have hoped to do ever since being relegated from the Championship in 2022, he will need to leapfrog many of the teams that were already ahead of his that have made strong starts to their summer windows.

So far, the Tykes have made three additions. Reyes Cleary, the most recent of them, completed his permanent move to Barnsley on Tuesday, as was exclusively reported by Football League World. They have also completed loan deals for goalkeeper Cooper Murphy and left-back Nathanael Ogbeta.

Frustratingly, they are at risk of losing some of their most talented players. Stephen Humphrys has already been snapped up by third tier newcomers Bradford City. Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic are interested in Davis Keillor-Dunn and Jon Russell is wanted by a host of Championship clubs, as was revealed by FLW.

Now they are facing pressure on a new front to keep another of their other key midfielders.

Barnsley reject Wycome offer for Luca Connell

Barnsley have had to bat off an offer from Wycombe for Connell, according to Mike Keegan. The 24-year-old has started 65 league matches for the Tykes over the past two seasons.

The proposal, while described as "substantial" and "surprising" for the former Celtic man by Keegan, was in the six-figure range. Barnsley will reportedly only consider offers in the millions for the Irishman.

Club skipper Connell still has another two years left on his deal with the Yorkshire club, leaving them in a strong position to be able to turn down bids like the one from the Chairboys. But Wanderers are expected to come back with another offer for the 24-year-old, as per Bucks Free Press.

Wycombe are one of the teams that finished ahead of the Tykes last season and have made a lot of moves early in the summer. Seven new faces have been added to Mike Dodds' squad since they were knocked out of the play-offs by eventual winners Charlton.

Barnsley must be proactive in the event of major sales

There may come a point where Barnsley do sell one of their prized assets, if not multiple of them, if a blinder of an offer gets sent their way. That's all well and good, and it's a scenario that a lot of supporters would be able to understand and rationalise. It's what they do after that which is important.

If they were to get seven-figures for Connell. That money has to then be reinvested into the squad. Look at what Stockport County have done with Isaac Olaofe. He made his Championship move, netted them £1.5 million, and they immediately brought in a replacement: Malik Mothersille.

That's how Barnsley