Coventry City target set to stay at League One club despite previous £3m bid
Barnsley man Liam Kitching is expected to stay at the club beyond this week despite past interest from the Championship, as per the Barnsley Chronicle.
Kitching, 23, has played in four league games for Barnsley so far this season.
Scoring once, the defender hasn’t really managed to hit the ground running this season and he was left out of Barnsley’s 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic last weekend.
Boss Neill Collins admits he maybe shouldn’t have played him through injury, but he is hopeful of Kitching being back in contention for this weekend’s clash against Cheltenham Town.
The defender made 48 third tier appearances last season across both the league and play-offs, and this summer was subject of bids from Coventry City in the Championship.
Collins said earlier this month he was determined to keep Kitching at Oakwell, and now it seems that will be the case.
A strong sign of intent
It is thought the bids rejected by Barnsley from Coventry City were around the £3million mark and that shows the League One club aren’t just rolling over and are serious about their chances this season.
Collins’ side won on the opening day, but then struggled to build on that. However, their win over the Tics last time out is another strong showing against a side who were unbeaten before the clash.
Barnsley fans still haven’t seen the best of Kitching yet this season. And with him rested last week and the transfer speculation seemingly put to bed it seems now could be the perfect chance for him to get his head down and show the fans his quality once again.
Barnsley will be looking to make it back-to-back wins for the first time this season as they travel to Cheltenham Town this weekend.
Debut goal for Luton striker McAtee at Barnsley labelled ‘pure class’ by Tykes boss
Luton striker John McAtee opened his Barnsley account with a debut goal at Wigan Athletic on Saturday, producing a finish that was described as ‘pure class’ by Tykes manager Neil Collins.
The 24-year-old had moved to Oakwell on Thursday evening to sign for the League One club for the remainder of the season and was straight into the squad that travelled to the DW Stadium.
Introduced on 65 minutes when the visitors were 1-0 up against their 10-man opponents, McAtee should have been up and running earlier, home goalkeeper Liam Roberts misjudging a long ball forward to leave him clean through, but with an empty net gaping, he rolled a left-footed shot wide of the target.
However, McAtee made no mistake in stoppage time, as when picked out by Aiden Marsh, he clinically beat Roberts with a low drive via the inside of the post.
Speaking to the club’s official website about the goal, Collins said: “Pure class finish.
“He’ll like a couple of his chances back, but that is the sign of a good striker, never get flustered.
“I think the fans are really going to enjoy John, he’s going to be their type of player.
“He plays with a lot of heart, but he’s got a lot of quality.
“He’s going to score some exciting goals, I think, for us.
“The competition for places is important, John adds to that.”
Although he featured during Luton’s pre-season campaign ahead of his move, McAtee hasn’t started a first team game since his loan spell with Grimsby last season, a 1-0 victory over Barrow on April 18.
He had been on the bench for Town’s Premier League opening day 4-1 defeat at Brighton, but admitted a lack of match action could be one of the reasons behind his glaring miss, saying: “Those ones, when you’re in the groove of playing, they come second nature.
“I had so much time to think about it and when it missed I just had to put it to the back of my head.
“Thankfully, another chance came and I ended up putting it away so I’m glad that happened.
“I’m happy to help the lads.
“Three points is what matters at the end of the day.
“I thought the lads did really well, we had a gameplan.
“The red card may or may not have helped but ‘D’ (Devante Cole) got his goal early doors. I’m just delighted to get three points.”
With his future secure for the season, McAtee, who had impressed Town boss Rob Edwards since his return to Kenilworth Road from the Mariners, now wants to improve on a campaign where he managed to find the net just four times in 32 outings.
That came after a year in which he bagged 16 goals for the Mariners, as he added: “The season before last, I thought I had quite a strong season; last season, I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be.
“I’ve got a fire in my belly at the minute now to go and put that right.
“I’m quite a confident person, I believe in myself.
“I’ve got that bit of extra hunger this year because of what happened last year, I wasn’t too happy with my performances.”
