Barnsley are hopeful of making several more signings in the next week as Paul Heckingbottom still aims to have the majority of his business done by the time the players return for pre-season.

The Reds currently have bids pending for two players and are in advanced negotiations over bringing in a third.Head coach Heckingbottom has previously stressed the importance of getting business done early this summer – in which he is expecting to bring in at least ten players in total – and had wanted to have most of those signings in place by the time pre-season training starts.

But, with just ten days to go before the players return to Oakwell on June 26, the Reds have so far brought in only Scottish midfielder Stevie Mallan and right-back Jason McCarthy, who joined this week from Southampton.

Heckingbottom told the Chronicle: "We have two bids in for players. Whether we will get them or not I am not sure and next week they might have been knocked back and we'll have another two bids in.

"There's activity all the time and we are constantly talking to clubs about money. It would be ideal if we could have the majority of our signings done before the players come back or at least before we go away to Hungary for the training camp the next week."

Barnsley are also expecting bids to come in later in the summer for star players such as captain Marc Roberts and his fellow defender Andy Yiadom, who are both understood to be on the radar of Premier League and Championship clubs.

Heckingbottom said: "I would love to keep the group we have already but we have to have one plan to add to the squad we have now and then other back-up plans in case certain players leave."

Even if all their players stay, the Reds are still looking to bring in full-backs with McCarthy and Yiadom being the only first team players in that position as Cole Kpekawa is currently out of favour with Heckingbottom. He is also short of strikers – with Tom Bradshaw the only frontman at Oakwell who has managed to break into his side – while Adam Hammill is the most senior winger, supplemented by young January signing Ryan Hedges and Elliot Lee who struggled for gametime last season.

Another weak area is central midfield as, while George Moncur, Alex Mowatt and Mallan are all very much in Heckingbottom's plans, they are all mainly suited to the attacking midfield role and the Reds will be looking to bring in at least one more defensively-minded player. The only current contracted player in that mould is Sessi D'Almeida but the Benin international is only just returning to full fitness after an injury ended his season last August following three appearances for Barnsley.

Heckingbottom said: "As it stands, we need two more defenders. That will either be a centre-back and a full-back or two full-backs. We want at least seven senior players across the back four positions with a couple of players who can play different positions like Jason McCarthy and Andy Yiadom. We are looking for central midfielders who are different to the ones we have already got and then at least two each of wingers and strikers. There's a lot of work to be done but we will need to make sure we get it done."

Yiadom, Roberts and Hammill are recovering well from the injuries that put them out of the final games of the 2016/17 season and are expected to be fully ready to begin pre-season. One player who seems very unlikely to join them is out-of-contract midfielder Josh Scowen, who has been offered a new deal with the Reds but looks to have his choice of several offers from Championship clubs and possibly Premier League side Huddersfield Town. Scowen's contract runs out at the end of this month.