A detailed look into the exciting Reds talents to emerge this season – Patrick Kelly, Reyes Cleary, Vimal Yoganathan, Jono Bland and Fabio Jalo.

PATRICK KELLY

Stephen Carson had a brief stint as a player at Barnsley more than two decades ago but also helped to discover one of their current stars.

The winger played 11 times for the Reds in the 2003/04 season, scoring once, then later returned to his native Northern Ireland with Coleraine as a player and a coach for their youth teams when he noticed a six-year-old Patrick Kelly who he recommended to the club’s age group coaches.

Kelly eventually made his Irish league debut for local club Coleraine in November 2021, just a month after his 17th birthday.

He was still at school but appeared regularly for the part-timers until moving to Premier League West Ham where he never played a senior game but impressed on loan to Doncaster Rovers last season, playing half his 30 league games off the bench but helping them to the League Two title.

Damian Mullan from the Coleraine Chronicle said: “Patrick Kelly came to prominence as a primary school footballer.

“There is a competition called the Doherty Cup which is held in high regard over here and his primary school from Portstewart won it at Coleraine’s Ground.

“He scored two and that was the first time people had seen him really.

“He was in Coleraine’s youth team but he was a lot smaller than a lot of peers. He went to the gym a lot with a personal trainer even as a young teenager.

“By 16, he got into Coleraine’s first team squad for pre-season and, at the end of that season, he was their best and most reliable player.

“It’s tough men’s football and he held his own.

“He always seemed like he was destined for better things and people over here still follow his career.”

Kelly looked set to rejoin Donny on loan for this season but Barnsley’s offer of a long-term contract for a free transfer but with a sell-on clause for the Hammers appealed to both the London club and the player.

Like Reyes Cleary, he had to wait for regular starts in the league but eventually broke through as the attacking midfielder behind the striker, having had mixed success in a deeper role. He has scored three times and played his part in several other goals and chances.

Kelly made his senior debut for Northern Ireland last month and will be hoping for another opportunity when they visit Italy in a World Cup play-off next March.

Signing both Kelly and Cleary on three-year deals, with an option for a fourth, looks like inspired business by the Reds last summer.

REYES CLEARY

Barnsley have rarely had as exciting a talent as Reyes Cleary in recent years.

Ten goal contributions in eight professional starts, from the left wing, is phenomenal but not surprising when you see how he regularly tears apart League One defences with his skill, speed and then the consistent end product.

He came through the academy at West Bromwich Albion and played seven times for their first team, then made just three substitute appearances in League Two on loan to Walsall last season before shining at non-league Hartlepool in early 2025.

Lewis Cox, who covers West Brom for the Express and Star, said: “Reyes Cleary is a player Albion fans were quite excited about and he was linked with some of the biggest clubs in Europe when he was in the academy. I watched him in the under 21s and he was a ridiculous talent. He was unlucky with some muscle injuries towards the end of seasons which meant he missed pre-season.

“The opportunity never really arrived in the first team, and I think there were some doubts about whether he was fit and strong enough for the Championship at the time.

“He went on loan to Walsall but they were flying, he arrived a bit late and he couldn’t get in the team. He had already played for Albion that season so he couldn’t go to another EFL club, so he went to Hartlepool in the National League which he is miles too good for. He did really well and got a move to Barnsley out of it.

“In hindsight, he’s obviously showing he has got that physicality and he’s showing the quality that was never in doubt.”

Since he came into the 11 after being left out for the first nine league games, the 21-year-old has turned the Reds from, at times in September, a predictable and pedestrian attacking unit against solid defences into a team capable of moments of magic. He is integral to their better recent form and, realistically, their chances of promotion this season. Each of the last two home games have seen him open the scoring then set up two goals and other chances, which will surely lead to teams doubling up in marking him like Lincoln last week.

That is something he and the coaching staff will have to combat but the England youth international is surely good enough to solve that problem.

There is a comparison to make between Cleary and Ricardo Vaz Te in 2011 who signed in the summer and made a massive impact in the first half of the season – attracting plenty of interest. The differences are that Vaz Te was in his mid-20s at that point, was playing in the Championship and, most crucially, had only signed a one-year contract. Cleary is signed up until 2029 including a club option so the Reds will surely look to hold out for a substantial multi-million offer.

It is understood that did not pay West Brom any money for him in the summer but the Baggies have a sell-on clause.

The Reds may want to wait until at least next summer when Cleary, if he carries on anything like his current form, should have double figures for both assists and goals and potentially have put Barnsley in serious contention for promotion.

The dream scenario is he takes them to the Championship and also excels at that level, then they are in club record sale territory.

But, even though he is still learning, he currently looks far too good for his current level and those players tend to get snapped up quickly. His 70-yard strike at Bradford will have attracted a lot of attention and his performances since will certainly have held that gaze.

Cleary’s personality seems to be at odds with the way he plays – full of confidence, flare and effective eccentricity – as he is a very quiet character, only really lighting up in interviews when asked about specific elements of his game or tactical work which paid off in games. Stories of him asking to do extra work after quieter matches highlight his impressive attitude which will be just as important as his superb talent in potentially taking him to the top level.

VIMAL YOGANATHAN

The youngest of all the players in this list, Yoganathan will not turn 20 until mid-January.

He is a trailblazer for the Tamil community, thousands of whom left Sri Lanka for Great Britain in the 20th century, having been the first footballer of that heritage to play then score in the EFL.

Born and raised in North Wales, he spent years in the academy of Liverpool – where he could return in the FA Cup next month – then was briefly with Burnley before joining Barnsley at under 16 level. Academy manager Bobby Hassell said: “We got very very lucky with Vimal. We’d offered him a trial but it took a long time to get him in and we’d already filled all our scholarship spaces. Out of respect, we honoured the trial but we told him it was unlikely we could offer him a deal, it was just to put him the shop window.

“We played Mansfield in a friendly and I told the Mansfield coach to have a look at him. They wanted to sign him, but he’d played that well that we had to keep him for a bit longer.

“The next game was at Derby and I couldn’t go but our academy head of recruitment Mick Tarmey rang me after ten minutes and said: ‘You’ve got to sign him. He’s already put in four crunching tackles and he’s a Barnsley player all day long.’ I managed to say something on the budget to take another scholar.”

He was part of the under 18s side which won the league and cup double in 2023, along with Jono Bland and Fabio Jalo.

Under 18s coach Nicky Eaden said: “Vimal was great to work with and wanted to learn all the time. I can’t remember ever having to pull him up on his attitude. At Liverpool, they played him as a number six. I didn’t really see him as effective there.

“Working with them every day, you see traits. We had a game at Hull and I put him further forward, he scored two and he’d never scored before. We just freed him up and got his long legs going.”

Yoganathan played five cup games in the 2023/24 season then Darrell Clarke gave him a taste of League One football last season before loaning him to National League Oldham Athletic whom he fired back into the EFL with some superb performances particularly in the play-offs. Having signed a new contract last summer until 2029, including a club option, Yoganathan has been in and out of the Barnsley 11 this season but has started the last five league games, scoring in his first two EFL goals. He has impressed on the right wing, with a more attacking role currently suiting him better than the defensive midfield holding position where he found himself on Saturday due to injuries and suspension.

Along with Kelly, he is now ahead in the attacking midfield selection of stalwart Adam Phillips and loanee Caylan Vickers who played regularly in the early months of the season.

JONO BLAND

Bland is from Shrewsbury and, after choosing football despite being a promising cricketer, spent years in the West Brom academy, alongside Cleary, before being released at 16 and joining Barnsley.

Having lifted the league and cup trophies as under 18s captain, he was recalled from his loan at sixth-tier Peterborough Sports by Darrell Clarke last spring but, after a change in manager soon after, was given his league debut by Conor Hourihane.

He has started 19 of the 26 league games since then with the only time he did not play in the league this season being due to suspension.

Academy manager Bobby Hassell said: “West Brom had been playing him as a centre-back but they released him because of his height. We got him in on trial and played him as a midfielder.

“Our under 16s coach at the time said no to him, and so did one of the other coaches. They didn’t think he would make it physically.

“But I liked him, he reminded me of myself as a young player, and we offered him a scholarship.

“We knew he was an intelligent player and excellent in possession and he proved he had the physicality. He’s got leadership qualities, he’s educated and intellectual.

“He was so reliable, I can’t remember him missing a training session. With his character and versatility, he’s gold dust for any manager and I am not surprised he’s adapted well to the first team.

“He looks like a senior pro already.”

Under 18s coach Nicky Eaden said: “He played every week for the under 18s as a first year professional which is pretty unusual.

“He read the game really well and he could handle the ball.

“He played in a back three then moved into midfield.

“I try to encourage players to speak up in the dressing room and have an opinion.

“He adapted to that very well.”

Bland is a central midfielder by trade but has sometimes been used at right-back, including in the most recent games, drifting into central positions when the Reds have the ball.

He is still looking for his first senior goal, having hit the post three times this season.

He turned 20 in October but speaks with the confidence of a much older player.

Bland signed a new deal last summer and, like Cleary, Kelly and Yoganathan, he is contracted until 2028 with a club option for another year. He is a regular in the Wales under 21s and, given their tendency to sometimes select League One players and his impressive performances, may have a chance of making his senior debut next year if he continues to improve. Wales are due to host Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup play-offs in March, with the winner taking on Italy or Northern Ireland for a place in next summer’s tournament.

A tantalising scenario from a Barnsley point of view would be Bland and Yoganathan being in contention for Wales’ squad and Kelly for Northern Ireland.

FABIO JALO

Jalo is one of the longest-serving members of the current first team squad at Oakwell. Having had to leave the youth system of Portuguese giants Benfica when his family moved to Leeds, the forward briefly stopped playing the game before returning to a local club then being signed aged 13 by Barnsley, where his now-released friend Raf Monteiro played.

Jalo soon became known as the next big thing out of the Oakwell academy and made his debut aged 16 in August 2022. Only Luca Connell made his Reds debut earlier out of the current Barnsley players, except Marc Roberts in his first spell.

Having been blooded by Michael Duff, both Neill Collins and Darrell Clarke used him sparingly and he had made more than 40 appearances, scoring four goals, before he was finally given his first league start by Conor Hourihane in March.

He scored twice against Bolton but soon picked up a knee injury which kept him out for eight months. Now fit again, he has played in the FA Cup and was on the league bench on Saturday. Barnsley previously turned down a bid for the Portugal under 20 international from Italian top flight club Lecce. Jalo, who turned 20 in November, is on the shortest contract of the players mentioned in this list, but is still on a deal until 2028 including a club option.

Academy manager Bobby Hassell said: “He’d just been playing on a park within the Portuguese community in Leeds. When I first saw him I said ‘who the hell is that?’ because he didn’t look in the right physical condition but, after watching him in one training session, I knew we had to sign him because I’d never seen anyone in an academy go past players like that or strike the ball as well.

“Previous managers didn’t want him going out on loan. That would have been vital.

“He’s got a lot of appearances but not that many minutes.

“Conor has trusted the young lads a lot more. He would have had a big season this season but he got injured.

“He’s had his shoulder injury and knee injury.

“He’s never had a muscle injury but you can’t legislate for contact injuries from tackles.

“He just needs to stay fit now and get back to his best.”