Barnsley have let winger Neil Farrugia travel to Dundee United ahead of a permanent move to the Scottish club.
Conor Hourihane’s side have had some struggles this season and find themselves in a lowly place in the League One table, albeit with multiple games in hand on the teams above them.
Farrugia Exit Underway
While many of his teammates will be preparing for their FA Cup Third Round clash away at Liverpool, Farrugia is instead heading north to Scotland with a deal agreed for an exit to Scottish Premiership side Dundee United.
According to Scott Burns of the Daily Record, Farrugia will leave Oakwell after just 12 months at the club since his arrival on a free transfer from Shamrock Rovers after his contract in Dublin expired.
It marks the end of a year-long pursuit of the French-born defender, who was a key target last January at Tannadice Park, but United ultimately did not act on that interest due to financial restraints.
He will have familiar company on Tayside with fellow Barnsley man Max Watters on loan for the season as the Tangerines look to earn back-to-back European qualification spots.
Move Makes Sense, But Replacement Needed
Neil Farrugia has really struggled for regular game time this season with Barnsley, so selling the defender on just 12 months later is an understandable decision.
With just two starts and 326 minutes played in League One this season, the 26-year-old has found it hard to break into the Tykes starting eleven with full-backs Josh Earl and Tennai Watson being impressive.
While Conor Hourihane may want to reinforce those areas of the pitch in the remainder of the window, it seems Farrugia is not part of those plans and can instead head to Dundee United knowing he will have more of a role to play in their hopes for a top-six finish or perhaps more.
Outside of Mael De Givegny and Nathanael Ogbeta, there is limited depth in the wider areas of defence, with Jonathan Bland having to fill in from his usual midfield position.
The Tykes ultimately lost out to Chesterfield in their rumoured pursuit of Tom Pearce last week, meaning there is some interest in signing a full-back this January, but it remains to be seen if that happens in the coming days.