CONOR Hourihane is happy with his centre-back options after signing Eoghan O’Connell but is looking to add depth to Barnsley’s attack while the Reds have started the process of moving on and replacing fringe players not in the head coach’s plans.
The January transfer window opened last Thursday and will stay open for another 23 days until Monday, February 2. As of Thursday, it was thought to be unlikely, though not impossible, that the Reds would make a second signing of the window before their game at Liverpool in the FA Cup on Monday – with attackers a main area of interest.
They are also keen to move on players who are barely playing to free up space for new arrivals.
Caylan Vickers is set to return to parent club Brighton and Hove Albion, having only started one league game since October. That follows the return of Jake Rooney to Derby last week while the futures of all loan players are thought to be being considered.
Jon Russell – who has not started in the league this season – has been loaned out to Barnsley’s fellow League One club Mansfield Town until the summer when his contract will expire.
The Reds are hoping to move on Kelechi Nwakali, who has not be involved with the first team all season.
O’Connell – a 30-year-old free agent who left Wrexham in September after three successive promotions – joins Marc Roberts, currently returning from injury, Jack Shepherd, Josh Earl and Mael de Gevigney as the senior centre-back options.
Asked if he wanted more centre-backs, Hourihane told the Chronicle: “I think we will be OK from that point of view.
“Getting in Eoghan was really important – a leader, an experienced player who got promoted the last few years.
“He will be a really good one.
“He’s quite vocal and a great guy over anything else. That is positive.
“We will see what happens with the ins and outs over the next couple of weeks.
“Getting some more depth in attack is important. We have so many games.
“We have four or five games more than most other teams so it’s important we have enough numbers in the building.”
There is reported interest from clubs in the UK and abroad for star winger Reyes Cleary, with Blackburn Rovers allegedly having a bid turned down for him.
Top-scorer Davis Keillor-Dunn is also thought to have many admirers.
But the Reds are understood to be holding out for significant seven-figure bids for those two and others.
On Wednesday, Hourihane said he was not aware of any bids and added: “It’s paper talk in the transfer window.
“To my knowledge, there has been nothing major in terms of those developments. They are all in the building and looking forward to the game on Monday.
“With the territory some of the lads want to get to, whether it’s Championship or even higher, you have to deal with that day to day. They have to keep working, keep their head down and keep doing the right things.
“If you want to go up through the levels, these things are just the norm.”
Jake Rooney was sent back to parent club Derby County last week, midway through his season-long loan.
The defender played 45 minutes of league football out of position at left-back at Doncaster in November, coming off at half-time, and appeared in six cup ties. The 22-year-old has barely played since late 2023 when he picked up a serous injury playing alongside Hourihane for the Rams.
Hourihane said: “We were looking for a centre half in the summer. It was really late in the window and, with the finances we had left, I thought Jake could make a difference. The injury has probably set him back further than I thought. But he’s a great guy, a really good person who came in and did his work properly every day. It didn’t work out which is football at times.”
Centre-back Kacper Lopata has been sent back from his loan at League Two Bristol Rovers but is likely to leave again. Hourihane said: “I think the best thing for Kacper will be to get sorted and head back out in some way shape or form. It’s important for his career that that happens.”
Goalkeeper Jackson Smith has loaned to Grimsby Town in League Two for the rest of the season.
