DANIEL Stendel returned to Barnsley for a second spell this week and the Reds are now working out who will be in his coaching staff and playing squad.
The 52-year-old German’s appointment was confirmed on Tuesday, almost eight years after he started his first spell at Oakwell in which he led the Reds to a record-breaking promotion from League One before being controversially sacked in October 2019.
He is currently manager of Hannover 96 reserves who have one more game in their German fourth tier season, at home to Bremer on Saturday.
Stendel was in contract at Hannover but the clubs agreed a settlement for him to move back to Barnsley on a two-year deal with a club option for a third.
He is due to start work at Oakwell in June, replacing Conor Hourihane who left by mutual consent after last season’s 15th-placed finish in League One, but could make a brief visit before then.
Stendel has a ‘right to remain’ having been employed in the UK before the UK left the EU.
It is thought he would like to bring an assistant with him from Germany but that is dependent on them getting a visa.
Dale Tonge was Stendel’s assistant for the promotion in 2019 and the Barnsley man is without a club after leaving Rotherham in March, but it is currently unclear if he will return for this second stint.
The future of Hourihane’s staff is unclear with Richard Keogh thought likely to follow his former boss out the door, although that is not confirmed, while set piece coach Ed Davies is also expected to move on.
Goalkeeper coach Scott Flinders and first team coach Tom Harban are the other coaches who worked with Hourihane.
In terms of the playing squad, the retained list is due to be announced before Saturday’s EFL deadline at the start of a busy summer at Oakwell.
The transfer window is due to open on June 15.
Bids are expected for star winger Reyes Cleary who scored seven goals and added 15 assists last season.
The Reds turned down offers of up to £3million for him in January.
Midfielders Luca Connell, Adam Phillips and Patrick Kelly are all thought to be of interest to other clubs.
Top-scorer David McGoldrick is understood to have agreed with the Reds to commence serious talks on a new contract once the new head coach was confirmed, so those are expected to progress in the coming days.
The striker, 38, netted 18 goals this season and is of interest to other clubs but has said he would be open to staying at Barnsley.
Leo Farrell, a 20-year-old who has never started a Barnsley game, is the only striker under contract who was involved with the first team last season.
Tom Bradshaw spent the summer of 2018 working under Stendel before moving to Millwall so is the only player he knows from last time.
The 33-year-old scored three goals in 19 games in the second half of the season on loan from Oxford United who have now released him.
The defence is also in need of a rebuild after the Reds conceded 99 goals last season and kept just five clean sheets.
The vast majority of the defenders are out of contract this summer, although Barnsley have an option to keep Jack Shepherd and Mael de Gevigney for a further season.
There are expected to be significant incomings throughout the summer to plug the large gaps in the squad.
Last time, Stendel brought Mike Bahre with him from Hannover – with the midfielder eventually becoming Reds captain – and there is thought to be a possibility that he will sign another player he already knows this time.
EFL clubs, under post-Brexit rules, have been allowed to have two players in their squads from EU countries who would not otherwise meet the points criteria for a visa.
Frenchman de Gevigney was the only such player in Barnsley’s squad last season.
The fixtures are out on June 25 with the new season starting on August 7 with an EFL Cup tie then the first league game a week later.
