Marcus Pedersen says he has fulfilled a lifelong ambition by signing for Barnsley – and the striker is ready to fire the Reds up the league.

The 23-year-old Norwegian international was spotted by Reds assistant manager Micky Mellon after he played against England at the Under 21 European Championships in Israel in June.

The Reds have monitored the forward since then and this week snapped him up on a season-long loan from parent club Vitesse. He has scored six goals in 27 games for the Dutch club but has had successful loan spells at Danish side Odense and Valerenga, who are based in Norway.

Pedersen scored regularly for his country at youth level and has made two full appearances for the national side this year. He started his football journey at HamKam in Norway, the same club where former Barnsley favourite Jan Aage Fjortoft began his career.

Pedersen flew into Barnsley on Wednesday to sign the deal and has moved to South Yorkshire with his girlfriend.

"Since I've been a young kid I've been thinking about playing in England," he said.

"There has been some clubs interested in England in the past but nothing concrete like this. I liked how the manager spoke to me about how I want to play. "I hope I am going to score some goals – that's my job.

"It's a good choice for me to start in the Championship and then maybe finish in the Premier League. I've had my first training session and feel that the tempo is much quicker than I'm used to – that's the big difference between football here and in Holland and Norway what I'm used to.

"I don't know so much history about Barnsley but I know how they want to play and I've spoken with the coach so I know enough. The manager is very interesting to talk to. He's passionate about football and that's what I like. It's good when you can have an honest conversation with a manager.

"I'm a striker who wants to be in the box. I've got speed, finishing and I'm aggressive. I hope I'll grow as a player and get further after this."