Barnsley are set to sign Bournemouth winger, Connor Mahoney on a loan deal for the remainder of the season. He has been on Paul Heckingbottom’s radar for some time now and the 20-year-old’s services is set to heavily relied upon by the Tykes given the deal goes through.
Mahoney started his professional career with Burnley and Blackburn Rovers before moving onto the youth academy of Accrington Stanley. He made his professional debut in Stanley’s 2-0 EFL League Cup defeat in the summer of 2013.
An out-and-out winger by trade, Mahoney made 21 appearances for Blackburn last season but failed to register a single goal in the Championship. Following Rovers’ relegation to League One, Mahoney left Ewood Park to sign with the Cherries.
He penned down a four-year contract on his arrival to Vitality Stadium and was replaced by Marc Pugh in the 2-2 draw against Wigan on 6th January. He also appeared midway through the second half in the 3-0 defeat in their FA Cup third round replay leg against the same opposition.
Mahoney has been capped for the England U17, U18 and U20 side on 3 occasions and has been pegged as one of the brightest prospects in the Cherries squad. However, his development has been restricted to just the 2 FA Cup appearances under Eddie Howe and a loan move is the only option if he wants to break into the senior team in the future.
Barnsley are currently standing in the 19th spot of the EFL Championship and are in danger of being relegated to the League One. They are just a couple of points ahead of the bottom three and are coming off a 3-1 loss to a promotion chasing Aston Villa. The Colliers have struggled to find the back of the net with just 28 registered in the league so far.
The Bournemouth player is known for his darting runs into the opposition box down the wing and his ability to put the ball in the box to assist his teammates to score goals. He is also equipped with the ability to find the back of the net from a variety of ranges and is a candidate with whom the opposition defenders need to deal with utmost awareness.
The young Englishman provides the assurance that he can take up on of the spots in the attacking lineup and also provide width to the Barnsley attacks. Tom Bradshaw has been defeated on a few occasions to a lack of quality deliveries from the flanks and would hopefully cherish Mahoney’s presence in the starting XI.
