Barnsley believe they have had a 'good transfer window' during January – which has seen them sell their captain but also bring in six new players – and that they have enough to stay up.
The Reds are currently one point above the relegation zone with 17 games left. After already recruiting Kieffer Moore and Daniel Pinillos, they brought in winger Connor Mahoney on loan from Premier League Bournemouth on Monday then made three signings in the final hours of Wednesday's deadline day. They were Christoph Knasmullner, Oliver McBurnie and Matt Mills who replaced Angus MacDonald after Barnsley sold their captain to Hull City.
Paul Heckingbottom decided not to attend yesterday's press conference, choosing to work with his new players on the training ground and sending assistant Jamie Clapham to speak. Clapham said: "I would say it has been a good window. The players who have gone out weren't involved and we have brought players in who we want to be involved. We have replaced Harvey Barnes (who the Reds could not get back on loan from Leicester) with Connor Mahoney who we are excited about.
"It's a difficult period, you obviously want to take decisions which are good for your football club and which strengthen your squad. I would say we have definitely done that. We're confident that we have got a squad now that will be really competitive and push each other on. We're comfortable with the balance of the squad."
A fee and personal terms were agreed for French midfielder Thomas Ephestion, 22, from Reds chief executive Gauthier Ganaye's former club RC Lens. But he left Oakwell on Wednesday, with concerns about moving abroad. A week earlier his fellow Frenchman Harrison Manzala also came to Oakwell for talks but left after failing to agree wages.
Clapham says: "We met him (Ephestion) and went through the process, spent the time and he was grateful for that. He was impressed by the football club but, for whatever reason, it didn't come off and I think the club might make a statement about that at a later date."
The Reds were unable to agree a fee with Oxford for goalkeeper Simon Eastwood. Clapham said: "Oxford had a valuation, like every club does and, if that isn't met, then the player doesn't come. It didn't materialise but we have two competent 'keepers here with Davo (Adam Davies) and Nick Townsend."
Barnsley were close to signing 2016 promotion star Ashley Fletcher on loan from Middlesbrough but the striker instead went to relegation rivals Sunderland after the Reds chose to sign Oliver McBurnie on loan from Swansea. The 21-year-old thought he had signed in August but the deal was done too late.
Clapham said: "It has taken some time to get Oli and now he is here it's a good acquisition. He gives us something different to the strikers we already had."
Knasmullner has been on the Reds' radar all window and was shown around Oakwell weeks ago, but the undisclosed fee was only agreed this week with Admiral Wacker in his native Austria. The 25-year-old is an attacking midfielder who was previously at Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. He has signed a two and a half year deal.
Clapham said: "I don't know too much about him. The difficulty will be the level he has come from to where he is now. It might take some time to get him up to speed, but he is an exciting talent."
MacDonald's exit as well as injuries picked up last week by his fellow centre-backs Ethan Pinnock and Adam Jackson meant the Reds brought in Mills who was released by Forest just before he signed as a free agent until the end of the season. At 31, he will add experience to the Reds as he has played 313 games in the Championship in a career which has seen £10million spent on him in transfer fees. The move suggests an end to the policy of signings players only aged 25 or under.
Clapham said: "Matt has played a lot of games at this level and we're looking forward to working with him. It bucks the trend of signing young players, but it is about getting the right balance and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't have experienced players."
