Wycombe Wanderers agree 7-figure transfer deal with Barnsley FC | OneFootball

The Irishman has been in Wycombe's sights for some time now.

Wycombe Wanderers and Barnsley have agreed a deal that will see Tykes midfielder Luca Connell join the Chairboys.

The disappointing way in which the 2024/25 season, one that had so much promise, ended for Mike Dodds' Wycombe side has driven them and their owners to try and right the wrongs of the previous term.

This summer, they have launched a fairly bold recruitment strategy, targeting players from across Europe.

Two players from the Eredivisie and the Swiss Super League - Mikki van Sas and Bradley Fink - have been brought to Adams Park in this window, but they haven't strayed so far from home that options in and around them aren't being considered.

Connell, the captain of their League One rivals, has been in their sights for the last couple of weeks, and it has now been reported by Bucks Free Press that negotiations over a potential deal for him have come to a positive conclusion.

Wycombe Wanderers and Barnsley agree Luca Connell deal

A bid for the Irishman went in at the start of the month, as per the Daily Mail's Mike Keegan, but was rejected in a timely fashion.

Barnsley's asking price for the former Celtic player has been set at seven figures. Offers worth anything less than that, which Wanderers' initial bid was, wouldn't be considered, and so Wycombe, unsurprisingly, came back with a bigger number.

£1.2 million was the reported value of the Chairboys' second proposal to Conor Hourihane's side. There was no reported response to this bid, but it has now been said that an offer of £1.3 million has been accepted.

Connell would be an apt signing for their third tier rivals, who will be without fellow central midfielder Josh Scowen for potentially all of next season after he suffered an ACL injury shortly before the end of last season.

Barnsley have to put Luca Connell funds to good use

Barnsley's willingness to let go of their skipper, and other first-team options, as Bucks Free Press have reported, does come as a slight shock, although not a massive one given their recent history of moving on their prized assets.

As a team in their spot, trying to get out of League One, you're always going to get other clubs sniffing around the players that might have you in contention for promotion. Selling them is fine, but the reinvestment of that money then needs to come in order to maintain those promotion hopes.

Barnsley can't afford to do what they have done previously and not put the millions that they've made from sales back into Hourihane's squad - it's in dire need of strengthening in multiple positions, and now they'll have to land a new midfielder.