Josh Kay's signed a contract extension

PUBLISHED

15:15 9th December 2016

Youngster signs until the end of the 2017/18 season.

The 19-year-old midfielder arrived at the Club in February of this year, initially joining up with the Under 23s and has often been included in the first-team squad this season, making his debut when starting against Bristol City in October at Oakwell.

Speaking immediately after putting pen to paper on his new contract, Josh expressed his delight at extending his Reds stay and went on to explain his target now moving forward.

He told barnsleyfc.co.uk: “I’m really happy to sign. Obviously I’ve really enjoyed my time so far, I’m progressing well at the Club and so I feel it’s the right thing for me to do.

“In fact my goal now for the rest of this season is to earn myself another contract! My goal this year was to earn another deal and I’ve done that, so it’s all about getting another deal now.”

The former AFC Fylde youngster has been a regular for Paul Harsley’s Under 23s side this season and Kay believes the arrival of Harsley has been a big positive for himself and the other players and that picking up victories has created a really good atmosphere.

“It’s been great, the atmosphere, especially since Paul came in. Winning games helps too. It gives you that confidence and freedom to go out and express yourself. We’ve won a lot of games recently and been playing well.”

A couple of games in particular have stood out for the midfielder. The young Reds have beaten both of their Sheffield counterparts this season and for Kay these victories were extra special.

“The goal I scored against Sheffield United was good. Ryan Williams flicked it around the corner and my speed came out of nowhere to be honest! Then I just slotted it into the bottom corner. But my brother’s a massive Sheffield Wednesday fan, so he was obviously buzzing that I scored against them!

“We played Wednesday at Hillsborough a few weeks ago, it was a really good performance from the lads. It’s a really big pitch there, absolutely massive. But we dug out a victory, I think Romal scored (Romal Palmer).”

Josh has had a taste of first-team football and that’s something he wants more of. He believes that working with the first team players has helped him develop further, and also given him a chance to test himself against so-called superior players.

He told us: “The speed, everything is much quicker in the first team. That’s proper noticeable straight away. You don’t get as much time on the ball.

“But I’m picking up things from the senior players, getting to learn things about their game which can only improve me as a player. I also like to challenge myself against them in training, because then if I’m doing well against them, then that gives the Gaffer something to think about.”