Oakwell boss Simon Davey does hope to sign another centre-forward, possibly before Saturday, but reports that he has laid out £800,000 on the 25-year-old are unfounded.

Barnsley were left needing a pre-season pick-me-up last night after a rampant Wigan side slammed in six goals at Oakwell without reply.

Barnsley were second best in almost every department, conceding three goals either side of half-time to the Premier League outfit.

Barnsley were missing only Hugo Colace and goalkeeper Luke Steele of the players likely to start against QPR when the season begins a week on Saturday.

Nineteen-year-old third-choice keeper Kyle Letheren had a rocky first half but recovered and pulled off some good saves after the break. His best came as he denied Dutch winger Daniel de Ridder his hat-trick with a stunning penalty stop.

Striker Jon Macken, partnering Iain Hume, came the closest to scoring, but on another day Wigan could have won by more. They hit the woodwork twice.

Barnsley's final friendly before the season starts is on Saturday when they face Chengu Blades from China.

The Blades, who are linked financially with Sheffield United, suffered their own humiliation earlier in the summer crashing to a 7-0 defeat against Chelsea.

Steele could well be in goal on Saturday'but Colace looks likely to still be under treatment for his hamstring injury.

Former Barnsley hero Daniel Nardiello is set to sign a two-year deal at Blackpool before the end of the week. He is leaving QPR after a year and Blackpool are paying an undisclosed fee for him.

What do you think? Post your comments below.

READ MORE

Football headlines
More Blades
More Owls
More Spireites
More Rovers
More Reds
More Millers
More Ice Hockey
More rugby league
More rugby union
More boxing
Sports columnists
All sport categories