[ad_pod ]
Championship side Stoke City have identified Barnsley’s ace centre-back Liam Lindsay as a late January transfer target, per The Sun’s Alan Nixon.
What’s the word?
The Sun’s transfer expert Nixon has claimed that while Stoke are looking to complete a deal for Portsmouth’s Matt Clarke, they may be put off by his £5million valuation.
As a result, the Potters may turn their attention to other young defenders in League One, such as Barnsley’s Lindsay, who remained at Oakwell in the summer despite the Tykes’ relegation.
The Potters would benefit from a new centre-back, as Nathan Jones’ side have won just once in their last eight games in all competitions and conceded 14 goals. Clearly, a leaky defensive line is a problem Stoke’s new manager will need to address in the coming weeks.
Barnsley, though, would be losing the services of a defender who has featured in 25 of their 28 League One fixtures so far this season, and would be forced to hand 10% of any transfer fee to Partick Thistle, who The Sun claim hold a sell-on clause from the deal that saw Lindsay move to Oakwell in 2017.
One of English football’s lesser known rivalries was reignited on Saturday thanks to an unlikely source. Check out the video above to find out which one…
Could it happen?
Unfortunately for Barnsley fans, Lindsay’s fate at Oakwell remains uncertain until Stoke decide whether they wish to pursue Portsmouth’s Clarke or not.
Should the Potters dig deep and pay Pompey’s £5million valuation, any Tykes supporter can then rest easy as Lindsay would likely remain one of their players, at least until the next transfer window opens.
But if Jones is not convinced that Clarke is worth the figure the Fratton Park outfit demand, Barnsley supporters will have to hope the 23-year-old defender is confident in their chances of gaining promotion back into the Championship this season.
With Ashley Williams and Ryan Shawcross both over 30, and struggling to produce the form that made them amongst the most consistent centre-backs in the Premier League during prior stages of their career, Lindsay would be a welcome addition at the bet365 Stadium.
He could be key in not only getting the Jones revolution underway in the second half of this season, but also the long-term rebuild of this Potters team.