Barnsley look to capitalise on Derby County player call | OneFootball

The Tykes are looking to add a second former Ram to their roster this summer.

Barnsley are interested in bringing former loanee Joe Wildsmith back to the club following his release by Derby County.

Darrell Clarke's first summer in charge at Oakwell has been all about familiar faces. The two signings that they have made so far - Conor Hourihane and Marc Roberts - both played for Barnsley in the past.

Now, reports from BBC Sheffield journalist Adam Oxley suggest that they are set to target another ex-player as they look to capitalise on the Rams' decision.

Oxley believed that the Tykes are interested in signing Wildsmith. The 28-year-old, like Hourihane, was released by Derby at the end of the season after they achieved promotion to the Championship.

Wildsmith has played much of his career in the Yorkshire area. He was with Sheffield Wednesday's academy before being promoted to their first team in 2013. He spent nearly a decade at Hillsborough before moving to Pride Park two summers ago.

In the middle of his lengthy stint with the Owls was when he joined Barnsley on loan, but it was just a month-long one from March to April 2015.

Joe Wildsmith's 23/24 campaign

The experienced shot-stopper was Paul Warne's number one choice for much of the season. Other than a six-game period from January to early February, Wildsmith started evert game that the Rams played in League One last time out.

He was part of the best defence in the league, which conceded just 37 goals in 46 games, and he won the golden glove with a very impressive 20 clean sheets.

Speaking on talkSPORT, manager Paul Warne revealed some of the reasoning behind the decision to let the 28-year-old leave the club for nothing.

"I have to make decisions on improving the team," said the County boss. "He (Wildsmith) was brilliant throughout. His contract ran out, We spoke about a new one last season and it broke down so we moved on. I want to sign a better No.1 than the ones I’ve got."

Derby are yet to add a new number one to their current crop of players. Josh Vickers is the only recognised, first-team keeper in the squad, as things stand.

Signing Wildsmith would fit the current Barnsley trend

Barnsley's first two signings of the summer window are both 33 years old. While Wildsmith is certainly younger than Hourihane and Roberts, he can still claim to have the needed experience that the new boss looks to be targeting.

The former Birmingham City defender has spent most of his career in the Championship. His only season in the third tier prior to now came when he was last at Oakwell, when they won promotion.

Hourihane is coming off the back of finishing second with Derby, and has experience of playing at a higher level too.

The glovesman has a bit more of an even blend of second and third tier football in his career, but the point remains: he knows what it takes to win at this level.

All the evidence points towards this being the key trait that Clarke is trying to target, in order to give themselves the best chance of going up in what should be an extremely competitive league with many teams fighting for the three promotion spots.

If he is brought in by Clarke to be the number one, he would succeed Liam Roberts, who is also currently a free agent after his contract with Barnsley expired at the start of the month.