Barnsley have signed Makenzie Kirk on loan from Championship for the season.

The 22-year-old was in the academy at Hearts when Reds boss Daniel Stendel was manager in the 2019/20 season and Makenzie’s father Andy Kirk was his assistant.

He moved to St Johnstone in 2024 then netted eight goals despite them being relegated from the top flight.

The Northern Ireland under 21 international moved to Portsmouth last season for a reported £500,000 and scored once in the Championship from four starts and ten substitute appearances, barely featuring after February 7 – partly due to injuries.

Barnsley have been low on strikers with academy graduate Leo Farrell and fellow new signing Amani Richards the only others options.

Kirk told the club’s website: "I've spoken to a lot of boys who've been here before – Conor Chaplin, Jordan Williams and Ben Killip - and they all said the same thing: it's a massive club. It was one thing that I just knew; if I came here, I'm going to be thriving in the right place."

Stendel added: "Makenzie is a young striker with good qualities and a strong desire to improve. He works hard, likes to press from the front and has shown that he can score goals at a good level.

"We believe this is a good environment for him to continue his development and we are looking forward to working with him."