GAGA Slonina is proud of his performances for Barnsley so far, in general, but is hoping to produce a solid display in his third league match at Oakwell having made errors in the previous two.

The 20-year-old American goalkeeper has played in six league games and three EFL Cup ties since signing on loan from Premier League giants Chelsea for the season last month.

While he has had some good moments, like the two shoot-out saves on his debut at Wigan, he has made individual errors in his only two home league games so far – gifting equalisers to Northampton and Bristol Rovers.

Slonina told the Chronicle: “There are areas I can improve on. I am proud of what I’ve done and like the way I am heading. I will just focus on doing my best every day in training.

“Two of the mistakes I have made have been at home so hopefully it is a better outcome on Saturday to give the fans what they deserve.

“During the moment, when you make a mistake, and the night after, it is difficult but I just have to move on and learn from them. I don’t think I will make those mistakes again.

“A strong mentality is probably one of the biggest characteristics a successful goalkeeper needs.”

Slonina has made one appearance for the US national team, last year, and was in the initial squad for last month’s international break before missing out.

He is hoping to make the cut this time for their games against Panama and Mexico next month while his long-term goal is to compete at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico at the end of next season.

“I will focus day in, day out to give myself the opportunity to play more international games.

“Mauricio Pochettino is the new coach and I trained with him and his staff at Chelsea.

“I am excited for him to start the journey with the US men’s national team.

“Every American player has the goal to be involved in the 2026 World Cup, especially since it’s at home. It’s something in the back of my head. I want to be part of that squad.”

Slonina played in Barnsley’s 7-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, giving away a penalty for the second goal.

“It was difficult. We knew it would be tough but we wanted to come out on top. The fans were really amazing.

“They deserved a little bit more than the performance we gave.

“But we can all say we played at Old Trafford and we worked hard to get there. All of us can learn about what it takes to play at that level.”