Barnsley FC issued warning over key area of Conor Hourihane's squad - it is a "concern" | OneFootball

FLW's Barnsley fan pundit has named his biggest issue with the club both on and off the pitch at the moment

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Barnsley are competing in League One for the fourth consecutive season as they eye promotion back to the Championship.

The Tykes had a relatively quiet summer transfer window relative to some of their rivals in the third division.

The South Yorkshire outfit were able to hold onto key players like Davis Keillor-Dunn, while adding experienced stars like David McGoldrick to Conor Hourihane’s squad.

Barnsley will be hoping that this squad is now capable of earning a top six spot after the disappointment of a 12th-placed finish in the previous campaign.

Barnsley’s lack of striker depth could cause Conor Hourihane an issue

When asked what the biggest issue at the club either on or off the pitch, FLW’s Barnsley fan pundit Andy Symcox highlighted the lack of striker depth.

He believes Hourihane’s side are at too much risk of a drop in quality if both Keillor-Dunn and McGoldrick get injured.

“My main concern on the pitch is that I feel that we’re a little light in the striker department,” Symcox told Football League World.

“If either David McGoldrick or Davis Keillor-Dunn were injured, we do have other players that can fill in but not absolute strikers except for our young player Leo Farrell, who will make his name in football as I believe he is a really good prospect.

“But it is too much to expect on young shoulders.

“The reports that we were trying to sign John McAtee, our ex-loanee, who is currently playing at Bolton Wanderers would’ve been a good thing, for me.

“He would’ve been a good addition and would’ve, for me personally, allayed any fears I had about the striker department in terms of numbers.”

Meanwhile, Symcox’s biggest concern off the pitch is whether enough was done in the market to be able to hold onto the team’s top stars.

“My concern off the pitch is whether or not by moving on so many players this summer, if that has negated the need to sell one of our ‘stars’," Andy added.

“We didn’t do so this summer, and the window is now shut, but obviously depending on our position in the league when the January window opens, who knows what will happen then.

“I would hope that we will still be in a decent position to look at promotion, either automatically or via the play-offs, that we would not need or wish to sell any of our top players.”

Barnsley had a positive summer transfer window - they now need to kick on in League One

Barnsley holding on to talisman Davis Keillor-Dunn was quite important, as and his consistent presence in the side will be crucial to any promotion push - such are midfielders like Adam Phillips and Luca Connell.

McGoldrick has also added some key extra firepower, but he also cannot be relied upon to play every minute of every game at this late stage in his career.

Figuring out the situation with Jon Russell so that he is in the side more regularly is also something that needs to be ironed out, preferably before January as at that point, the Jamaica international can discuss a pre-contract agreement with non-English clubs.

But, all in all, Barnsley had a positive summer window, and if they can maintain a solid first half of the season then they could get through January unscathed - even though their attacking depth may be a small cause for concern.