Alex Mowatt is hoping to sort out a new contract at Barnsley in the near future, saying there is nowhere else he would rather play.
The central midfielder – who is one of the only ever-presents this season along with Dimitri Cavare and Ethan Pinnock – is out of contract next year.
Chief executive Gauthier Ganaye has said that Mowatt is one of the players who the Reds have offered new deals to, while George Moncur and Adam Jackson have also been presented with possible extensions. The 23-year-old is understood to be one of the higher-paid players at Oakwell, having signed from Leeds in the Championship in January last year after which he struggled to break into the side and was loaned out to Oxford United last season.
Mowatt told the Chronicle: “We haven’t got everything sorted yet. My agent will come in and talk to the club and then we can go from there. I definitely want to stay. With the way we have started, I don’t see why I would want to go anywhere else. I wanted to get a run in the team this season in my position, which has happened.”
Mowatt has scored once for Barnsley this season, with a spectacular long-range strike against Plymouth Argyle earlier this month. He said: “I need to get my shots off more so hopefully I can start scoring more goals. I am playing a deeper role but I can still get around the box.”
Mowatt is hoping for the first promotion of his career this season. He said: “We’re expected to win every game now after the standards we have set. We want to get into that top two and get promoted, but it won’t be easy. We will go through good and bad spells but we just need to be as consistent as possible.”
Mowatt has been one of fifth-placed Barnsley’s top performers this season, playing mainly alongside Kenny Dougall in a holding midfield role.
He said: “I have really enjoyed this season, we have won most of the games and every game has been exciting with lots of goals. I think I have improved the defensive side of my game without really thinking about it. Some managers said they didn’t trust me to play in a midfield two because they didn’t think I was good enough defensively, but I have shown that I can do it this season.
“Everyone likes to play every week, and that’s when your confidence and fitness and sharpness comes. I have played 14 games in a row which is probably the longest run I have had in two years.”
