Reece Brown could be the next player out of the Oakwell exit door as the Reds attempt to clear out their failed signings and make room for new recruits.
Barnsley have this week said goodbye to two wingers as they allowed Reuben Noble-Lazarus to join Rochdale on a permanent deal and cancelled the contract of Keith Treacy by mutual consent.
Defender Brown, 23, has played 18 games for the Reds but has struggled for form since joining from Watford on a one-year deal last summer.
The Chronicle understands Barnsley wanted him to leave on loan to Scottish second tier club Hibernian this week but he rejected the initial approach and his contract could now be terminated.
Brown was on the bench for Saturday's match against Yeovil but the Reds are hoping to sign another defender soon.
"Reece still has the option to go to Hibs," said chief executive Ben Mansford.
"He has fallen down the right-back pecking order beneath James Bree, Mason Holgate and George Williams. If I was Reece, I would join Hibs and play some games."
Barnsley have had no bids for any of their players but are moving on those no longer in manager Danny Wilson's plans.
Mansford admits that the summer recruitment by himself and Wilson was not perfect. He said: "We made one or two mistakes. But it's not like running a factory and buying a machine which you know will perform in a certain way.
"We are dealing with flesh and blood and it is not an exact science. Sometimes signings don't work out but we make sure we deal with that and learn from it. Letting Keith go has freed up a bit of finance for us but the support of Patrick Cryne is what is making us one of the clubs in League One best-equipped to be active in this January transfer window."
Meanwhile, both Barnsley and Rochdale have refused to reveal any of the financial aspects of the Noble-Lazarus deal though it is thought to involve a small fee. There is also understood to be a sell-on clause for the Reds if their former manager Keith Hill, now at Rochdale, continues his record of improving players and selling them on.
"A lot was made of Reuben in his younger days and he had a lot of expectations on his shoulders," said assistant manager Chris Hutchings.
"Maybe there was too much put on him as a young lad. Sometimes it doesn't work out and you have to move to kickstart your career somewhere else. He has done reasonably well at Rochdale (in a loan spell over the last three months) and probably feels he has a better chance of playing regularly over there."
