Paul Heckingbottom believes Harvey Barnes would like to spend the remainder of the season at Oakwell but admits the decision is out of his hands.
The 20-year-old winger impressed on loan from Premier League Leicester City in the first half of the season with five goals and four assists. He was recalled at the start of the January transfer window and made his first Foxes start in their 0-0 FA Cup draw at Fleetwood Town. But he was not involved in the replay, playing instead for the under 23s in their Checkatrade Trophy defeat at Oldham Athletic.
Players cannot represent more than two clubs in a season so Barnes could only play for Leicester or the Reds for the remainder of this campaign.
Head coach Heckingbottom said: "He's Leicester's player but he can only play for us or them. We will have to see what happens.If I was hazarding a guess, I would say Harvey and his representatives and family would probably say Barnsley is a better place for him to be at the moment. But we don't know Leicester's plans. It is up to them and we have to respect their decision. They might have a plan to involve him with the first team."
If they cannot re-sign Barnes, the Reds will try to sign another winger as currently they only have Adam Hammill as well as Welsh pair Ryan Hedges and Lloyd Isgrove who have both struggled with injuries.
