Barnsley transfer latest: Former Sheffield United defender links up with ex-manager in League Two
BARNSLEY defender Kacper Lopata has joined League Two outfit Bristol Rovers on loan for the rest of the 2025-26 season – linking up with ex-Reds head coach Darrell Clarke in the process.
The Polish-born centre-half, who has represented his country at age-group level, joined the Reds on a four-year deal in the summer of 2023, but has failed to establish himself at Oakwell, making just 16 appearances, including just two last season.
Speaking recently, head coach Conor Hourihane confirmed that Lopata – who has raised in Bristol after moving over from Poland at a young age - was not part of his first-team plans.
In his maiden season at the club, the defender made a number of appearances early on in the 2023-24 campaign before sustaining a fractured collarbone in the autumn.
The 23-year-old moved on a season-long loan to SPL side Ross County last August, making 31 appearances in total.
He previously spent the second half of the previous 23-24 campaign on loan at Port Vale, having joined on deadline day in the 2024 winter window.
Despite being tipped for a bright future at first club Sheffield United, Lopata made just two senior appearances in his time with the Blades, both in the EFL Cup at the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
He was subsequently loaned out to Southend United and moved there permanently in September 2022 before later linking up with fellow National League side Woking, helping the Cards to a fourth-place finish in the National League.
Barnsley provided him with a passage back to the EFL in the 2023 close season.
Lopata is the fifth player to leave Barnsley on loan this summer, following on from Barry Cotter and Corey O’Keeffe, who have joined Notts County and Stockport County respectively, while Max Watters and Andy Dallas have headed to Dundee United and Southend United.