Barnsley could be set for another sell-on clause windfall should Alfie Mawson move from Swansea City to Tottenham Hotspur while the Reds are getting closer to bringing in Swans striker Oliver McBurnie.
The Chronicle has been told that there was a sell-on clause included in the deal that took highly-rated defender Mawson from Oakwell to the Welsh club for £5million last summer.
It would not be as significant a cash injection as the £7million Barnsley received when their academy graduate John Stones moved for £47million from Everton to Manchester City last summer. But it is understood that it could net the Reds at least a million as Champions League side Spurs are reported to be interested in a £20million move for the England under 21s star.
Mawson played 64 games for the Reds after failing to break into Brentford's side and helped Barnsley to promotion from League One before moving to Wales and impressing in the Premier League last season. Any sell-on clause money would certainly help Barnsley in their attempts to compete financially in the Championship using a strategy of signing players from the lower leagues and moving some of them on for larger amounts. It may also help them in their recruitment efforts for next season, which stepped up in the last week with the signings of defenders Ethan Pinnock and Zeki Fryers as well as winger Lloyd Isgrove.
Those three joined head coach Paul Heckingbottom and a more rounded playing squad – minus captain Marc Roberts who moved to Birmingham City – on a pre-season training camp in Hungary this week. Chief executive Gauthier Ganaye remained at Oakwell and has been working on the next raft of new recruits, which are likely to include Swansea's McBurnie. The Reds are understood to be extremely close to agreeing a loan move for the young forward.
But an injury to City's star striker Fernando Llorente – who broke his arm while cycling on holiday last week – could mean McBurnie is more involved in their pre-season preparations. The 21-year-old has been prolific in the Swans' development side but has struggled to break into their Premier League team, playing just five top flight games since joining from Bradford City in 2015.
Heckingbottom and Ganaye have each admitted the Reds have registered an interest in McBurnie as well as Brad Potts, but the Reds' interest in the Blackpool winger is understood to have cooled slightly and they are considering other options in that position.
