'Squads all have a shelf-life': Barnsley FC sporting director on prospects of summer revamp plus transfer window message

That arrived back in 2005-06, a campaign which ended in promotion to the Championship, a level which many Reds followers believe to be their natural preserve.

In many respects, 2025-26 – a fourth successive one in League One – will be the acid test for the club’s current owners.

Should Barnsley’s time in the lower leagues extend to a fifth season – something which previously happened in the eminently forgettable 1970s – then the club will undeniably be in a period of drift and, quite possibly, decline.

It explains why this summer’s revamp in terms of freshening up the club’s playing squad is particularly important.

While the Reds have already announced their retained list, attempting to move on some contracted players who have been involved in much of Barnsley’s current spell in League One will come into Conor Hourihane’s thinking and the club’s, according to sporting director Mladen Sormaz.

Partly it is down to the desire from Hourihane, pictured, to build a high-pressing side truly in his own image. Moving on players who are, quite frankly, in need of a new challenge is another key consideration.

Sormaz told The Yorkshire Post: “Squads all have a shelf-life.

“Going back to when I worked at Leicester, two years after I left, they went down with a lot of good players who had got slightly stale.

“It’s not always just quality, sometimes it’s just where they are in their careers. It could be a time for a good refresh.”

Many clubs are feeling the pinch in the lower leagues and Barnsley are no different.

Back in March, chairman Neerav Parekh – after revealing that the club’s board pumped in a seven-figure sum to help with running costs in fiscally-challenging 2024-25 – acknowledged that the prospect of players being sold in the close season to ‘balance the books’ is something the club must also countenance.

That said, Sormaz still expects the club to have a ‘reasonable’ playing budget for this summer’s window.

The fact there was no major outlay in the winter window – as low-key and disappointing as it was – to seriously impact upon the kitty this summer is not insignificant in that regard.

Sormaz added: “It’s a reasonable amount, from what I have been told. That is all getting finalised. I expect it to be pretty sensible and reasonable.”

Talks with several targets whose deals expire at other clubs shortly are already well under way.

For those potential recruits who would command a fee, more patience is required, with serious discussions only likely to commence once the transfer window gets closer. The summer window opens from Sunday, June 1 to Tuesday, June 10.

After a brief shut-down until June 16, it reopens until September 1.

Sormaz said: “In terms of free agents, that’s already begun for sure.

“Because it’s that time or year and they are the ones you have to move quickest on. Conversations have – and are – happening.”