Barnsley backed to sign 'ideal' Exeter City star before September 1st | OneFootball

Barnsley have been urged to make a move to sign in-demand Exeter City striker Jayden Wareham.

Barnsley will be hoping to challenge for the top six and the play-off places in League One this season but there is an expectation that they will need to be busy in the final few days of the summer transfer window in order to sustain their competitiveness.

Following the return of former boss Daniel Stendel to Oakwell, it has been a relatively quiet summer transfer window thus far for The Tykes.

They have brought in Cameron McGeehan and Clayton Taylor on free transfers from Northampton Town and the Newcastle Jets respectively, while also adding Tyrese Noslin, Amani Richards and Sam Gale for undisclosed fees from Telstar, Leicester City and Gillingham. Cieran Slicker and Makenzie Kirk have also signed on loan.

In terms of outgoings, Eoghan O’Connell, Max Watters and Jon Russell were among those to depart at the end of their contracts alongside Andrew Dallas, Marc Roberts and Tennai Watson – as well as David McGoldrick, who moved to Mansfield Town in June.

There have also, once again, been a few sales with Mael de Gevigney, Kacper Lopata, Jackson Smith and Adam Phillips – the latter moving to Yorkshire rivals Bradford City.

It has left Stendel with a reasonable squad with a few stars, most notably Reyes Cleary, but one that still needs working on and especially in attack, with Barnsley now urged to try and sign in-demand Exeter City striker Jayden Wareham.

Barnsley urged to sign Jayden Wareham

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Linked with a move to the likes of Wycombe Wanderers, with a bid from The Chairboys rejected earlier this month, Jayden Wareham is surely expected to depart Exeter before the end of the window.

The former Reading striker impressed in his debut season at St James Park last year, scoring 19 goals as The Grecians succumbed to relegation down to League Two.

Surely above the level of the fourth-tier, Wareham’s departure feels inevitable but only for the right price and FLW’s Barnsley Fan Pundit Andy Symcox believes his side should make a move for the 23-year-old.

Andy says: “I think it is pretty straightforward to say that Barnsley Football Club desperately need one or potentially two strikers to finish off moves that our defenders and midfield are creating.

“It is difficult to pinpoint one player but if I had to state a single player it would be Jayden Wareham at Exeter City.

“I would expect that Exeter would want a lot of money in a transfer fee and whether or not Barnsley would be able to match what Exeter want for Jayden remains to be seen.

“At his age, he would be an ideal player for us.”

Barnsley need to strengthen in attack

Mid-way through the 2025-26 season, Barnsley appeared as though they would be challenging for the top six throughout the second half of the season under the management of Conor Hourihane.

However, yet another fairly frustrating sale for the supporters saw key man and top scorer Davis Keillor-Dunn, who was only overtaken as top scorer late in the season by the now departed McGoldrick.

This summer has seen both Phillips and McGoldrick, two more fairly key attacking assets, depart the club with only youngster Richards and still unproven Kirk, who has just 15 career goals to his name in 78 appearances, as out and out strikers that have been brought in.

Barnsley now possess a small squad, and one that is at risk of being further weakened by suggestions that Luton Town are interested in captain Luca Connell.

Barnsley’s fanbase have grown close to exasperated with the amount of key departures in recent seasons and their malaise that has seen them stagnate in the third-tier since their relegation from the Championship in the 2021-22 campaign, just a year after they had been in the second-tier play-offs.

Barnsley need to strengthen their squad in a few key areas but, as Andy points out, most prominently in the final third and a move for Wareham would certainly begin to at least score some points with their supporters.