Barnsley have signed their second defender in as many days with the eye-catching capture of Aapo Halme from Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.
The 21 year old from Helsinki in Finland is a centre back who stands at 6ft5 and has joined for an "undisclosed six figure sum" becoming the Reds seventh new arrival since promotion back to the Championship.
Halme started his career in his home country with the youth team of FC Honka making just one senior appearance before moving to Klubi-04 where he appeared 15 times and scored once.
Halme's big break arrived in the summer of 2015 when he joined the reigning Finnish League Cup winners HJK Helsinki which saw him move back to his home city and into the Finnish top flight where he stayed for three seasons, making 29 appearances and scoring one goal in a period where Helsinki finished second first and first in the top tier.
This saw Leeds United purchase Halme in the January 2018 transfer window for a fee of £500,000, however he suffered a serious foot injury in training not long after signing which meant he did not appear in the first team until the 24th November when he started and played 64 minutes in a 2-0 Championship victory over Bristol City - a match in which ex Red Josh Brownhill was sent off for Bristol.
Halme would make another three league appearances for Leeds, all from the bench and all in victories - against Sheffield United QPR and Bolton, whilst he also made his one and only FA Cup appearance, playing the first half in a 2-1 defeat at QPR in the Third Round in which he scored the Whites goal.
Although not featuring regular for Marcelo Bielsa he was a prominent figure in the Leeds United under 23 side that won the PDL Northern League and then became the national Professional Development League Champions by beating Birmingham City in the final.
Halme who has signed a three year deal with the option of a fourth in the club's favour has represented Finland at Under 16 (5 caps), Under 17 (10), Under 18 (6), Under 19 (4) and Under 21 (3) level.