Wycombe Wanderers hit with stumbling block over Barnsley FC transfer pursuit | OneFootball

The Irishman has been in Wycombe's sights for some time now.

Talks between League One sides Wycombe Wanderers and Barnsley over a deal that would see Tykes midfielder Luca Connell join the Chairboys have ground to a halt.

The disappointing way in which the 2024/25 season, one that had so much promise, ended for Mike Dodds' Wycombe side has driven them and their owners to try and right the wrongs of the previous term.

This summer, they have launched a fairly bold recruitment strategy, targeting players from across Europe.

Two players from the Eredivisie and the Swiss Super League - Mikki van Sas and Bradley Fink - have been brought to Adams Park in this window, but they haven't strayed so far from home that options in and around them aren't being considered.

Connell, the captain of their League One rivals, has been in their sights for the last couple of weeks.

But it has now been reported by Bucks Free Press that negotiations over a potential deal for him have hit a wall, after progress had seemingly been made.

Wycombe Wanderers and Barnsley at an impasse in Luca Connell transfer talks

A bid for the Irishman went in at the start of the month, as per the Daily Mail's Mike Keegan, but was rejected in a timely fashion.

Barnsley's asking price for the former Celtic player has been set at seven figures. Offers worth anything less than that, which Wanderers' initial bid was, wouldn't be considered, and so Wycombe, unsurprisingly, came back with a bigger number.

£1.2 million was the reported value of the Chairboys' second proposal to Conor Hourihane's side. Despite being comfortably in the seven-figure price range that Barnsley had set, there has been no advancement over a deal for Connell.

According to Bucks Free Press, there is still hope from both sides that a deal can be done as Barnsley are considering offloading some of their first-team talent this summer.

Connell would be an apt signing for their third tier rivals, who will be without fellow central midfielder Josh Scowen for potentially all of next season after he suffered an ACL injury shortly before the end of last season.

Wycombe Wanderers may have to move on from Luca Connell negotiations

Barnsley's willingness to let go of their skipper does come as a slight shock, although not a massive one given their recent history of moving on their prized assets.

And even though the latest offer has reached seven figures, it appears Barnsley want a higher seven-figure fee for the ex-Celtic man - and that may be something the Chairboys just aren't willing to do.

There hasn't been any reported opposition from the player to the move, so it's a bit of a mystery as to what is holding this deal back, and also what Barnsley's response to the suspected £1.2 million bid was.