A deal to sign winger Harrison Manzala from French Ligue 1 side Amiens has been cancelled at the last minute- believed to be by the player himself.
The Reds had agreed a fee with the 13th placed French side - around £850,000- for a player who has scored twice in 23 games in the French top flight this season.
The 23 year old was at Oakwell yesterday for a medical and to negotiate personal terms but late last night he posted on his Twitter page:
"Hello everyone, as you may have heard, it's true, I have had discussions with the club of Barnsley in the Championship. After full analysis of the situation I took the decision not to hire me for this club. Operation maintenance!"
Several reports claim that the move broke down to rather extravagant wage demands that the Congo international had.
The Reds could now set their sights on Bournemouth winger Connor Mahoney, who head coach Paul Heckingbottom admitted yesterday that the club are interested in but may have to wait until closer to the transfer deadline next Wednesday to sign on loan.
The 20 year old arrived on the South Coast from Blackburn Rovers in the summer following the 1995 Premier League champions relegation to League One, but has made only two appearances for the Cherries- both in the FA Cup Third Round where they lost to Wigan Athletic in a replay.
Mahoney started his career with Accrington Stanley following failed trials with both Burnley and Blackburn and he made his professional debut for the Accies in August 2013, at just 16 years of age, in a 2-0 League Cup defeat to Cardiff.
The winger who has represented England at U17, U18 and U20 level made only six appearances for Stanley before being signed by Blackburn in December 2013 where he was placed into their development squad.
He made his competitive debut for Rovers the following January, coming on as a 59th minute substitute in a 5-0 hammering at Premier League giants Manchester City in an FA Cup replay.
Mahoney would have to wait over two years before his next outing for the Blackburn side, making his league debut in August 2016 in a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest, where he started and played 71 minutes, before also starting their next match, playing 63 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Bristol City.
These were the only two appearances Mahoney made in 2015-2016, but he established himself more the following season, appearing 21 times, however he could not stop Rovers being relegated to the third tier for the first time in 37 years.
Blackburn did offer Mahoney a new contract that summer but he turned this down to sign for Premier League side Bournemouth and on the 4th July 2017 he agreed a four year deal.