Barnsley are confident of appointing a new chief executive in the coming days but senior figures at Oakwell have confirmed to the Chronicle that it is not Ben Mansford.
Mansford left his role at Leeds United last week, causing speculation that he would be coming back to Barnsley where he spent three years as chief executive before moving across Yorkshire to Elland Road last June. But the Chronicle understands that Mansford is not the candidate lined up by the Reds, who are expecting to announce the new person after the Bank Holiday weekend.
Barnsley have been operating without a chief executive for 133 days since Linton Brown, Mansford's replacement, left his role on January 13. The new CEO, whose identity is yet to be revealed, will be immediately tasked with helping head coach Paul Heckingbottom assemble a side for the 2017/18 Championship season.
The Reds have been linked with a move for Rohan Ince from promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, but Heckingbottom told the Chronicle he is not trying to bring in the midfielder. Barnsley have so far recruited Stevie Mallan from Scottish club St Mirren but are in the final stages of negotiation with several other potential signings.
Heckingbottom said: "There is a lot of work going in and I have been meeting players this week. It's non-stop. We're still at the same stage, but there's nothing imminent at the moment."
Heckingbottom also confirmed that there have been no bids for any of his contracted players, including Marc Roberts who is linked with Aston Villa. Any departures would create further gaps in a depleted playing squad. Barnsley currently have a squad of 18 players, but many of them are youngsters or out of favour. Only six have started more than ten games for the club while more than half of them have fewer than 50 EFL appearances in their careers.
The Reds have employed a policy over the last two years of almost exclusively signing players under the age of 25, with the only exception being winger Adam Hammill, now 29, who returned to the club in late 2015. Heckingbottom says that policy can be tricky to implement but it also has its benefits.
He said: "It is a challenge because if they are under 25 and already good enough for the Championship, then they they will cost a fortune in transfer fees and wages so we can't afford them. So we have to look at players who other clubs wouldn't sign and take the risk that we can make them good enough for the Championship.
"We have to be really diligent with our research and do a hell of a lot of work with them as soon as we get them through the door so that they are ready for when the season starts. We can't buy ready-made players.
"Only signing players of a certain age narrows our search areas down a lot, which is good, and it's good to work with young players who want to learn and improve. It's a strategy that has worked for the club and hopefully it continues.
"Eighteen months ago when we were bottom of League One, everyone was saying we needed to sign experience but we turned it around and those young players became leaders."
The latest young recruit was 21-year-old Mallan, who is an attacking midfielder as are new team-mates Alex Mowatt and George Moncur. Heckingbottom, who played an attacking midfielder behind a striker in many games in the second half of the season, is happy with his options in that position but is keen to fill other areas such as up front, full-back and defensive midfield.
The Reds boss said: "It's good to have a few options in attacking midfield. They have all got a lot of ability and an eye for goal. George Moncur finished the season really well because he improved his all-round game to work within our team shape. They all need to be able to do that, then we will have a few to pick from. I am happy with the players we have in that position and we have got to prioritise other areas now.
"We have a lot of gaps to fill and we need to start getting players in fast. I'd like to get most of the squad sorted by the time we get back to training on June 26 then add a few more including loans later in August."
Louis Rowe, an 18-year-old striker, has signed a one-year professional deal. Under 23s captain Jared Bird and three other under 18s are also expected to sign.
