Leeds United appointed former Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom as their new manager this week after Thomas Christiansen was sacked following the 4-1 defeat against Cardiff City at Elland Road last weekend.
The 40-year-old was a surprise choice in many ways considering he had only ever managed the Yorkshire club, had signed a new contract with the Tykes on February 2 and was in the middle of a run of just one win in 14 Championship matches.
Heckingbottom is the latest boss to be tasked with trying to get the Whites back to the Premier League for the first time since they were relegated in 2004, but it remains to be seen whether he can lead them to a play-off position this season.
Whatever happens, the manager will have plenty of work to do in the summer transfer window and he may consider looking back at his former club to see if they have any players that he feels could do a job for him and the team next term.
Here are three Barnsley players Heckingbottom could target to try and bring to Leeds in the summer…
Liam Lindsay
Barnsley only signed the 6ft 4in centre-back from Partick Thistle last summer, but he has already established himself as one of the Tykes’ best and key players.
According to WhoScored.com, the 22-year-old has won 125 of the 182 aerial duels he has faced in 26 Championship appearances this season, while he has won 39 of the 46 tackles he has attempted and made an impressive 165 clearances.
With Matthew Pennington only on loan and captain Liam Cooper needing to improve his discipline on the pitch, Heckingbottom may well be looking for a new centre-back in the summer and the highly-rated Lindsay could be the one that he targets.
Brad Potts
Like Lindsay, Potts only joined Barnsley in the summer from Blackpool following a number of impressive performances for the Tangerines, and he is starting to replicate those displays for the Yorkshire outfit.
The 6ft 2in midfielder has already shown that he is something of an all-rounder in the middle of the park, and as well as scoring two goals in 23 Championship appearances, he has also shown his creative side by making 25 key passes.
The 23-year-old is also useful from a defensive point of view too though, and he has also won 15 tackles and made 12 interceptions and 25 clearances.
If Heckingbottom is looking for extra quality in the middle of the park alongside the likes of Adam Forshaw, Ronaldo Vieira and Eunan O’Kane next season, he could turn to the highly-rated Potts.
Tom Bradshaw
If Leeds fail to go up this season and Heckingbottom is looking to bring a new striker to Elland Road in the summer, he could do a lot worse than take a look at Bradshaw.
The Wales international has impressed for Barnsley since making the step up from League One in the summer of 2016, and he has nine goals in 34 appearances for the Tykes this season.
The 25-year-old showed during his time with Walsall that he can score any type of goal and is willing to put in the work for his team, and he could prove to be a useful addition to the Leeds frontline next term.
Would you want any of these, Leeds fans? Let us know below.
