Barnsley’s shock move for Premier League winner in 2020 failed - Daryl Dike made sure he wasn’t missed | OneFootball

Mario Balotelli was once in talks to sign for Barnsley, who would turn their head to Daryl Dike instead following the Italian's rejection

Former Manchester City and Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli was once in talks over a move to South Yorkshire outfit Barnsley whilst the club was in the Championship, but following a collapse in that deal, they turned their attentions to American forward Daryl Dike instead.

For Barnsley fans, the 2020/21 season was a surreal one.

Having narrowly survived relegation from the Championship the previous season by one point courtesy of a late Clarke Odour winner away at Brentford, the Tykes set their ambitions high for the following campaign.

Under the now Bristol City manager Gerhard Struber, Barnsley signed the likes of Herbie Kane, Callum Brittain, and Michal Helik to reinforce their options ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

However, after just a month or so into the new season, Struber was poached by New York Red Bulls in the MLS to become their new manager, leading to the appointment of Valerian Ismael at Oakwell as his replacement.

Ismael sought to improve the side once more in January, but before the winter window could begin, a strange and, in truth, unbelievable link emerged for Barnsley out of the blue.

Mario Balotelli was linked with a free switch to Barnsley in 2020, but the move never materialised

Sitting in 16th place in the Championship table at the time, Barnsley were linked with a blockbuster move for former Man City and Liverpool forward Mario Balotelli.

Balotelli's time in England, and throughout his entire career, truthfully, was never dull, with the maverick Italian never far away from controversy, which is what made the link to the South Yorkshire side so hard to believe.

Controversies of the mad Italian included setting fireworks off in his bathroom, throwing a dart at a Man City youth player, and a surprise visit to a school in Manchester to 'make use of the facilities'.

The then-30-year-old had recently been relegated to Serie B in his native Italy with Brescia, and with the club not exercising its option to extend Balotelli's deal for a further year, he was made a free agent, making him a target for Barnsley on a free transfer.

Conversations were reportedly held between the former Italian international's representatives and Barnsley's then-co-chairmen Chien Lee and Paul Conway, but talks never went further than that.

Cauley Woodrow, Conor Chaplin, and Victor Adeboyejo were Barnsley's main attacking options at the time, so the addition of the former Golden Boy award winner would certainly have shaken things up a bit in the Tykes' attack.

The six-foot-two-inch striker, despite how polarising he was, was also an incredibly exceptional footballer, having represented his country of birth on 36 occasions, scoring 14 times, whilst also donning the shirts of Inter Milan, AC Milan, OGC Nice, and Marseille across his career, as well as the two clubs in England.

As it happened, Balotelli would remain in Italy and sign for Serie B side Monza on a seven-month contract, with Barnsley having missed out on what would have been one of the wildest deals in football history.

The failed capture of Balotelli did not jolt Barnsley's plans too much.

That January, the Tykes secured the loan signing of American forward Daryl Dike for Orlando City in the MLS, whose few months at Oakwell will long be remembered.

Dike offered Ismael's side a completely different option up top, and would hit nine goals in 19 games in his first few months in a different continent, which included important strikes in victories over the likes of Birmingham City, Wycombe Wanderers, Luton Town and Huddersfield Town.

His goals meant that Barnsley would finish in 5th place that season, above current high-flying Premier League side Bournemouth, qualifying for the Championship play-offs in the process, where they would face Swansea City over two legs.

Although the Tykes would lose out to Swansea, Dike's goals meant that rumours of a move for Balotelli were quickly forgotten about.

Barnsley were unable to sign the American permanently, having been priced out reportedly on personal terms, with Dike eventually making the move to England with West Brom for £7 million in January 2022, linking back up with Ismael, who was now the Baggies boss.

Dike has been ravaged by injuries during his time at the Hawthorns, but his brief stint at Oakwell saw Barnsley supporters quickly forget about Balotelli.