Mads Andersen has 'earned' Premier League move says Barnsley FC chief executive as Luton Town switch completed

The Danish centre-back has joined Luton Town for an undisclosed fee. It fulfilled an ambition he revealed was stuck as a note on his fridge as a young player in Denmark by way of motivation.

“Mads’ dedication and professionalism earned the right to honour his wishes and allow him to pursue a new challenge in his career," said El-Ahmad.

“His success whilst with the club provides further evidence of the excellent player development pathway established at Oakwell, progressing into one of the best defenders in the league last season and adopting a leadership role within our squad.

“Watching his development both as a footballer and human being has been extremely rewarding and it has been a pleasure to have worked with a professional such as Mads.

“We’d like to once again extend our gratitude to him and send our best wishes for the future for someone who is a top professional.”

After joining from AC Horsens in 2019, Andersen broke the record for most Barnsley appearances by an overseas player - 175 - but his contrbution was about more than loingevity, with the defender recognised by many as the best centre-back in last season's League One.

The Reds narrowly missed promotion to the Championship when they were beaten 1-0 by Sheffield Wednesday in the League One play-off final despite playing the majority of the game with 10 men after a red card for Adam Phillips. The Owls' goal came in stoppage time of extra time.

Barnsley have since lost manager Michael Duff to Swansea City.

Andersen stayed with the club and was named captain when a host of key players left after relegation from the Championship 12 months ago but entered the final year of his contract at the weekend.

The 25-year-old made a point of thanking his old club as he made the move to top-flight football.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the support and love I have received during my four years at Oakwell," he said. "It has been years of ups and downs and I have developed a lot as a footballer and as a human being, including being a proud captain for the team the last year.

“I know my choice of movement will disappoint fans, but a life as a footballer is short, and therefore most players have ambitions of playing at the highest level possible. That ambition includes me and already when I was playing in Denmark at AC Horsens, I had a note on my fridge stating the ambition of reaching the Premier League someday.

“I want to thank the coaches, staff and my incredible team-mates for this season and for four lovely years at BFC, which I will look back at with joy. I also want to say thank you to Khaled who has supported me in this step upwards.

"I think BFC is a perfect club for young footballers to get a chance of playing football at a professional level and therefore I am happy that I took this step in 2019."