Barnsley are ready to end their interest in Bolton Wanderers striker Conor Wilkinson.
The Reds had a £75,000 fee accepted for the 20 year old who had had two previous loan spells with current Barnsley head coach Lee Johnson whilst in charge of Oldham.
However the club and player are struggling to agree terms with Republic of Ireland Under 21 international Wilkinson holding out for more cash than a value-for-money conscious Barnsley are willing to offer.
This has led to an approach to free agent Jon Stead.
Stead who is now 32 started his career in Yorkshire, starring for his hometown club Huddersfield Town where he netted 22 times in 68 games between 2002 and 2004 to earn a £1m move to Blackburn.
In the intervening decade the former England Under 21 international has scored 71 goals in 350 games for Rovers, Sunderland, Derby, Sheffield United, Ipswich, Coventry, Bristol City, Huddersfield again, Oldham and Bradford.
He teamed up with Johnson at Boundary Park for a goal-less five game spell in February 2014.
Stead spent the entirety of the 2014-2015 season with Bradford City, scoring 13 times including in their sensational 4-2 FA Cup win at Chelsea.
His final goal for the Bantams came in a 1-0 win over Barnsley in the penultimate game of the season and he has now scored SEVEN times against The Reds in his career.
Stead is a free agent following his release by Huddersfield who he rejoined in June 2013 and during his career he has been sold for a total of £4.4m.