Barnsley v Bournemouth: Reds finally set to dip toes in January transfer market

The former Morocco youth international has struggled for game time this season at Metz, having moved to the Ligue 1 side from Nancy – one of Barnsley’s sister clubs – last summer.

Brest were also interested in the player, who signed a long-term deal with the top-flight side.

The 24-year-old was a regular for Nancy’s B team before establishing himself in the first team. He made 119 appearances and scored 26 goals for Nancy before earning his move to Metz, who he joined for a £1.8m fee.

The French-born player has featured just eight times for Metz, making five league appearances with his game time consisting of 183 minutes at league level.

Reports suggest it will be a loan deal with an option to buy for Barnsley and a deal could be completed this weekend.

On the outgoing front, Barnsley have seen Ben Williams depart for Cheltenham Town this month, while Toby Sibbick has joined Hearts.

The Reds are also hoping to bring in other signings, alongside Bassi, before Monday night’s transfer deadline.

Devoid of options, form, new arrivals as it stands and a fair bit of hope, Barnsley will be at long odds to get anything today against the Cherries, who won 4-0 in the reverse fixture last term.

Without a win in 10 league matches, the rock-bottom Reds’ issues are plentiful and a big one is a lack of goals.

Out of the bottom seven, only Hull City and Derby County have conceded fewer goals than Barnsley this season.

Their tally of 17 in 26 games is the Football League’s lowest tally, and top-scorer Cauley Woodrow is sidelined with a knee injury.

Devante Cole is the first to admit thas he and his team-mates must do more.

He said: “It’s massively frustrating, especially for the forwards.

“I’ve not played as much as I want to so when I get on there I’m definitely hungry to get a goal and it’s the same for all of us. We’re all looking for the goals but at the moment it’s not quite falling.

“We put pressure on them (Nottingham Forest) for long spells but the final ball’s just not quite right at the moment.

“As you can imagine the dressing room is flat. it’s not where we want it to be, it’s not where we think it should be, but it’s up to us now to change this. It has to start some time – it needs to start against Bournemouth.”