Barnsley are hopeful of keeping their promotion-chasing squad together in the January transfer window but could offload fringe players who are out of contract in the summer.

While the team is currently third in League One having won their last six matches in all competitions, the board is carefully planning for the mid-season window which is just five weeks away.

The Reds turned down bids of at least £1million in the summer for Kieffer Moore – who is now the top-scorer with ten goals – and Brad Potts, who has netted six in 14 from midfield.

Both of them are understood to still be on the radar of several Championship clubs while centre-backs Liam Lindsay and Ethan Pinnock also have many admirers. Midfielder Alex Mowatt is also highly-rated but has just signed a new deal at Oakwell.

Chief executive Gauthier Ganaye told the Chronicle: “I am sure there will be interest in our players in January. We have tied them on longer deals so that, in January when people call us, we are in a stronger position to negotiate.

“It doesn’t mean we are not going to sell because you don’t know what kind of offer you will receive and you can never say never. Our attitude is to keep the team as it is at the minute but maybe a big, big club will come with a big bid for one of our players. We need to be prepared for that and we know what our options are to replace those players.”

Barnsley have offered new contracts to midfielders George Moncur and Ryan Hedges as well as centre-back Adam Jackson – none of whom have been regular starters this season. Ganaye has previously said that the club will be willing to move players on in January if contract talks have not progressed, so that they receive a transfer fee for them rather than losing them for nothing in the summer.

He added this week: “You can see the squad is deep and there is competition for every position, but in some positions we can do with less players. So if someone in one of those positions doesn’t want to sign a new deal, and we have an offer that works for us, we will sell. We don’t want to lose them for nothing later on.”

Captain and goalkeeper Adam Davies has not yet been offered a new deal, nor has winger Lloyd Isgrove. Both of them are out of contract next summer. The Reds have an option to extend right-back Dimitri Cavare’s deal for a year until 2020.

Barnsley are also hoping to improve contracts of players whose deals run beyond the end of the season but who they want to secure on a long-term basis. Ganaye hopes Mowatt’s new deal and the team’s excellent form will persuade those players to pen new contracts.

He said: “Alex Mowatt’s new contract is a big piece of business because I am sure lots of clubs are looking at him. Maybe the fact that Alex has signed will convince others to sign as well. We are still discussing with some other players. It takes time but the more we win on the pitch, the more they want to sign because they all want to play Championship football.”

If Barnsley win tomorrow, it will be their first run of seven consecutive victories since the 1954/55 season. They have not conceded a League One goal for a month, having kept three successive clean sheets following a 3-1 defeat at Shrewsbury Town on October 23.

The Reds have not lost in 15 home matches since March, drawing five and winning ten including their last six. It is their longest winning run at Oakwell since Dave Bassett won six in a row in 2000. Victory tomorrow would mean they have won seven successive home games for the first time since the 1973/74 campaign under manager Jim Iley whose death was announced by the club this week.

It is their longest unbeaten home run since 19 matches under Andy Ritchie in the 2005/06 season. Ganaye said: “We are third and our objective is the top two so we are not there yet. It’s in our hands and, if we continue playing this kind of football, it doesn’t matter about other teams. We are our own biggest rival.”