Barnsley FC urged to sign "quality" Lincoln City player to solve defensive worries | OneFootball

Our Tykes fan pundit has told his club to sign Paudie O'Connor this summer amid links to his services

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 have been urged to sign Lincoln City defender Paudie O'Connor, or at least a player of similar stature, in the upcoming summer transfer window to improve their chances of staging a play-off push next season.

The Tykes are fresh off the back of a disappointing League One campaign in which they finished 12th, 17 points off the top-six, following a turbulent season that saw Oakwell hero Conor Hourihane take charge of the club in March for the first role of his managerial career.

The ex-Republic of Ireland international was initially appointed on an interim basis, but assumed the post full-time in April, and will now set about trying to build a squad that can make advances on the play-offs in 2025/26 with a busy summer likely ahead.

Barnsley fan pundit issues Paudie O'Connor transfer demand - it is an 'absolute priority'

Football League World revealed last week that Lincoln club-captain O'Connor is wanted by Barnsley and Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town, with his Imps contract set to expire this summer and no new deal signed as yet.

The 27-year-old was a standout at the heart of Michael Skubala's side throughout the 2024/25 campaign, with three goals and four assists in 39 league appearances as they finished just one place above the Tykes on goal-difference in the third-tier.

Barnsley's woes throughout the season were largely put down to their leaky defence, with 73 goals conceded across the term. FLW's Tykes fan pundit, Andy Symcox, believes that they need to make O'Connor a priority signing this summer, and if they can not seal a deal for him, they must bring in a player that possesses similar traits.

“Since last summer, we at Barnsley have been crying out for a target man, a mobile striker. However, we scored 69 goals, and although that continues to be an issue for us, the bigger current issue is our defence,” Andy told FLW.

“We conceded 73 goals in the league in this last season, and only a handful of teams conceded more than us.

“Some of that was down to poor defending collectively, and a number were due to individual mistakes.

“So, for me, the very first thing we need to do is shore up the defence with a quality defensive signing. A player such as Paudie O’Connor, at Lincoln City, who is strong defensively, powerful, and can also add something to offensive corners.

“We also have Jack Shepherd hopefully returning. He has been on loan at Bradford City and won rave reviews.

“I hope that we maintain him within our squad rather than allowing someone else to purchase him, including Bradford, as he will be another strong defender.

“So, for me, a defender such as Paudie O’Connor, not necessarily him, but of that ilk, would be an absolute priority.”

Barnsley may be hard pushed to secure O'Connor's signature amid expected Lincoln City exit

Barnsley are clearly going to be focusing on bolstering their defensive ranks this summer, as, despite Hourihane's numerous options at centre-back heading into the summer, they need to be a lot more solid at the back to be able to progress up the table next term.

Signing O'Connor would make sense, then, given his quality at third-tier level and the way he has led by example for Lincoln over the last few seasons, but they are not going to be alone in their desire to recruit him in the months to come, as shown by previous links and the fact that Huddersfield are also after him right now.

The 27-year-old was claimed to be a target for Championship sides Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, and Oxford United by Football Insider last September, with potential moves being plotted ahead of the January window.

Nothing materialised in terms of a move away from the Imps in the winter, and they were claimed to have offered him a new long-term deal just after the turn of the year in order to fend off that second-tier interest, but O'Connor is still yet to sign on at Sincil Bank, and the season has now finished with nothing penned and an exit seemingly inevitable.

Barnsley would no doubt love to snap the Irishman up sooner rather than later as they look to build a new-look squad capable of taking them back to the Championship next season, but they do need to act fast to get him in the building before a higher-placed EFL team makes him their own.