Barnsley fc retained list

Barnsley FC can announce their retained list for the 2025/26 campaign.

Retained Players

Jonathan Bland

Luca Connell

Barry Cotter

Andrew Dallas

Mael de Gevigney

Josh Earl

Neil Farrugia

Leo Farrell

Georgie Gent

Davis Keillor-Dunn

Kyran Lofthouse

Kacper Lopata

Kelechi Nwakali

Corey O'Keeffe

Adam Phillips

Rogan Ravenhill

Marc Roberts

Jonathan Russell

Jack Shepherd

Jackson Smith

Fabio Jalo

Max Watters

Vimal Yoganathan

Contract option activated

Connor Barratt

Players offered new contracts

Luke Alker

Aaron Atkinson

Kieren Flavell

Kieran Graham

Stephen Humphrys

Ziggy Kozluk


Bayley McCann

Tom Senior

Returning to parent club following loan spell

Joe Gauci

Dexter Lembikisa

Clement Rodrigues

Departing players

Josh Benson

Theo Chapman

Sam Cosgrove

Josiah Dyer

Adam Hayton

Charlie Hickingbottom

Nathan James

Jonathan Lewis

Jean Claude Makiessi

Aiden Marsh

Conor McCarthy

Emmaisa Nzondo

Donovan Pines

Hayden Pickard

Callum West

In addition, the following Academy players will also move on:

Geoffrey Lundoloki

Elliott Probert

Kallum Reid

Maxwell Swift

William Thompson

Malachi Tommy-Mbogba

Owen Warburton



Barnsley FC extends its sincere thanks to all departing players for their efforts during their time at Oakwell and wishes them every success in their future endeavours.

Further updates regarding contract negotiations will be shared in due course.





https://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/news/2025/may/07/retained-list1/

 

Sad to see Nathan James on the departures.

 

Does this mean we're offering Humphrys a totally new contract rather than triggering the 1 year option? Maybe trying to get his wages down.

 

Shame about Josiah Dyer being released. Thought there was a player there

 

2+2=5 we've offered Humphries a reduced package.

Feels like we've lots of lads on the books doesn't it.

 

Makiessi and Nzondo from the younger lot looked likely to make it, surprised they’ve been released

 

Also pleased Russell under contract. Hopefully means we can flog him rather than release him.

 

That'll get the wage bill down quite a bit. Definitely needed.

 

Oh and we still have 22 players in that first team squad, far too many but I guess the only ones who will leave are the ones we’d like to keep!

 

We aren’t adverse to letting a younger player go and it coming back to haunt us.

 

We need to stop padding the squad with punts and give the promising youngsters their chance to break through

 

Was just trying to work out who will be “First teamers”

Could still do with selling 6 or 7 of them.

 

Who you thinking off?

 

So many poor players still on the books.

 

I think the only surprises for me on there are Dyer being released, Dallas being retained and Humphrys having a new contract offer, rather than us taking the option on him. As already suggested, this is potentially a wage reduction contract offer for a longer period, which I suspect we may discover is subsequently rejected (I recall something similar on last year's list where that happened).

I'd expect a few on the retained list to be sold over the window. Pretty certain that Phillips and Connell will go, but we hopefully retain DKD. Many seem to think that DKD will go in this window, but I'm less convinced.

Oh, and what a story it tells about the January window. Farrugia is the only one still on the books. The loans were inevitable departures, but I'm not convinced that we'd have retained any of them if they'd been on short-term contracts. Gauci perhaps, but his injury restricted what we got to see of him.

 

And does it thus mean that we have now foregone our 1 year option, and he can depart if he wants?

I suppose it does.

 

I wonder what the thinking is behind retaining Dallas?

 

Possible first team squad:

Gk
Jackson Smith
Kieran Flavell


Defenders
Roberts
De Gevigny
Earl
Gent
Shepherd
Łopata

Midfielders
Connell
Phillips
Nwakali
Russell
Bland
Yonganathan

Wingers(!)
Jalo
Humphrys
Cotter?
O’Keeffe
Farrugia
Lofthouse?

Strikers
Watters
Keillor-Dunn

Bolstering the forward line and the goalkeeper position has to be a priority.
We also need a RB unless Bland is planning on converting to get more game time. I’ve put Cotter, Lofthouse and O’Keeffe as wingers cos i wouldn’t want them playing as a traditional right back in a 4-3-3.

 

Dallas is retained only because he still has time to run on his contract with us. If his contract was up he’d no doubt be released.

 

Dallas is under contract for another year so we’ve no choice but to retain him. Agree about Humphrys, looks like a longer contract on less money. Doubt very much he’ll accept that…time will tell.