Barnsley: Reds reportedly lodge bid for midfield ace Joe Williams

Williams is already on loan at the Reds, with his wonderstrike against Burton Albion - his only goal for the club - earning him the October Goal of the Month award.

The 21-year-old has impressed in front of the back four and has been instrumental in helping keep three clean sheets in the last five games.

Barnsley are believed to have placed a bid in the region of £1m for the player.

Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes returned to the Foxes on New Year’s Day - and Heckingbottom wants to bring in players, not lose them.

He said: “I’m hoping we can bring in players, not lose them.

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“We all know how difficult this job is. We’ve had it in every window with our players being linked with other clubs.

“I’ve also been linked with me out of the window, so we know it’s [speculation] is going to happen.

“I’d love to have players in by the weekend, but will it happen? I don’t know.”

On the pitch, Heckingbottom was delighted Barnsley kicked off the New Year in style.

The Reds got back to winning ways after an agonising 10-game winless run - a rut which included five successive defeats.

Unlikely hero Ethan Pinnock scored for the second game running to end Barnsley’s woes against Sunderland. Off the field it’s a new era for the club with new owners on board and hopefully the Reds can string a few results together after a disappointing end to 2017 on the pitch.

Heckingbottom said: “It feels great. It’s nice to be able to say something different for a change. In my eyes it was a really dominant one-nil performance, but we could have made it easier for ourselves if we took our chances. I’m really pleased to get the win, we deserved it, but there’s still areas to improve.”