Barnsley complete the signing of Leeds United defender Aapo Halme

BARNSLEY have completed their second defensive signing in the space of 24 hours after bringing in Leeds United centre-half Aapo Halme for an undisclosed six-figure fee.
Aapo HalmeAapo Halme
Aapo Halme

Halme has signed a three-year deal, with the option of a fourth year.

The arrival of the Finnish centre-half quickly follows on from the addition of AFC Wimbledon defender Toby Sibbick with the Reds faced with building a new-look back four following the recent decisions to sell last season's first-choice central defensive pairing of Ethan Pinnock and Liam Lindsay for a combined fee in the region of £5.5m.

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Pinnock was sold to Brentford on Tuesday in a £3m switch, with the Londoner having rejected an offer to become the highest paid player at Oakwell.

Lindsay completed a move to Stoke City last month for a fee in the region of £2.5m after also rebuffing fresh terms at Oakwell - with both out of contract next June.

Giant defender Halme, 21, joined Leeds for a fee of around £500,000 in January 2018.

The 6ft 5in centre-half featured five times for the Whites last term, with his last appearance coming in a 2-1 FA Cup loss at QPR in early January, when he also found the net.

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A combination of injury issues and the form of first-choice pairing Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper restricted Halme's opportunities to consistently impress at Elland Road.

Halme made his debut for the Whites in the home win over Bristol City last November.

The Helsinki-born player has represented his country at all levels from under-16 to under-21s and captained the under-21s in their game with Norway earlier this year.

His arrival - Barnsley's seventh of the close-season so far - follows on from the addition of fellow Scandinavian defender Mads Juel Andersen.

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Barnsley have also brought in Siddick, Mike-Steven Bahre, Luke Thomas, Bradley Collins and Samuel Radlinger, with the club also in the market for other new recruits to boost their squad in preparation for the new season.