Head coach Paul Heckingbottom feels that French midfielder Sessi D'Almeida deserves success at Oakwell due to the enthusiasm he has.

D'Almeida, 21, endured a nightmare first season in English football after he tore his anterior cruciate knee ligament playing for the under 23s back in August.

It kept the youngster, who had made three appearances from the bench, out for the remainder of the season and left Barnsley a man down in midfield.

He has slowly got himself back to fitness and should be ready to stake a claim for a starting spot come the start of the season. The former Bordeaux and Paris Saint Germain player returned to action midweek in the friendly against Guiseley.

Heckingbottom said: "Sessi has missed a hell of a lot of games and tactical information. We know that he has got a great desire to do well and he's infectious in how he approaches training and games.

"You really want players like that to do well so we will give him lots of attention and information without overloading him because it's difficult.

"He wants to do that well all the time that he is asking for new bits of information. Hopefully when he is in the team we know he will improve the team. "He is one we have to push and push and see what we get from him."

Heckingbottom agrees that D'Almeida is the only player currently at the club capable of playing in a defensive screening role comfortably. Having that option is an important one.

He added: "We have got lots of similar players in midfield and I have said numerous times that it is about picking a winning eleven and you need all sorts to be able to do that.

"Having different types of players gives you different combinations with whichever eleven you put out. For me that's vital."