IN his short but highly impressive first-team career at Barnsley so far, Arley Kay has shown himself to be proficient in several positions.

The talented teenager, an ever-present so far this season in league and cup, has shown his aptitude at right-back, left-back and centre-half and looks to be a potential star in the making already at just 18.

On the position where he feels that Kay could end up in the long-term, Daniel Stendel's answer is an interesting one.

The Reds head coach said: "I think his future will be in the central area.

Barnsley head coach Daniel Stendel. Picture courtesy of BFC.

placeholder image — Barnsley head coach Daniel Stendel. Picture courtesy of BFC.

"I can also believe he can play maybe in central midfield in the future, in my opinion. But at the moment, I'm happy that he can play so many different positions.

"And not only he can play, he can play very well in the positions that are good for us and help the team. And it surprises me every week again with his young age that he plays like an experienced player."

A clutch of academy talents have been involved in every matchday squad so far in 2026-27 and while the likes of Kay, Luke Alker and Rogan Ravenhill have taken centre stage, others such as Noah Town, Callum Hudson, Noah Saunders and Tayo Dunne have had their taste of first-team action.

It all points towards the Reds academy being in good health with others such as Jono Bland and Vimal Voganathan being blooded in recent seasons.

Josh Earl, pictured in action last season. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

Stendel added: "I think it has to be the way from Barnsley Football Club.

"We have some interesting players in the academy. We try to bring them in, but we cannot play only with academy players. This is clear for me and also for the club.

"But they can learn from the older, more experienced players with Bland and Yoganathan. We have some players who played, especially in the last season, a lot of games.

"And this is a little bit the way for the players from the academy to look at and think: 'OK, this has happened, this can happen maybe for me'.

"But we cannot play with only young players."

An encouraging haul of four points from two away games at Leyton Orient and Doncaster Rovers has set the Reds up nicely for Wednesday’s meeting with a Pool side who are unbeaten at the start of the new league season and have taken seven points from a possible nine thus far.

The game sees defender Josh Earl make a quickfire return to Oakwell following his recent move to the Seasiders.