George Williams has fallen in love at Oakwell and believes he will sign a new contract to stay with the club.
The versatile full-back, 23, has been offered a new deal to stay beyond the end of the current season. Williams has made 23 appearances for the club this season after fighting his way back from the brink when he was out on loan at Barrow. Not staying at the club now seems unthinkable to the defender, who is expected to start the League One play-off final on Sunday.
He told the Chronicle: "I'm really happy. I love it here and hopefully we can get that (the extension) sorted. It's just negotiations now. Hecky (head coach Paul Heckingbottom) has let me know that they are going to offer me a new deal and that is the extent of it at the moment. We will get Sunday out of the way, hopefully get the win, and we will go from there."
Williams remains grateful for his spell at Barrow but acknowledges that, while there, a future with the Reds seemed unlikely. Injuries to other full-backs allowed him a route back in and he grasped it. He added: "If I'm honest, back in November, I didn't know where my future would be because I wasn't in the team and I was out on loan. I enjoyed my loan there, it gave me first team football and got my sharpness up. When I came back I didn't know what to expect but, fortunately for me, a few lads got injuries and I got a chance to show what I can do."
Of all Barnsley's players, Williams seems to be the one who has come the furthest. A year ago he was awaiting his university results and by Sunday he will most likely have played at Wembley twice. Williams recalls this time last year: "I was just finishing my final semester at university as well as playing here full-time, it's been a different kind of year this time. I was glad to get my degree finished and now I can focus solely on football. If someone back then had said I would have played at Wembley and won and then would be going again, I wouldn't have believed them."
