Sky Sports have reported that Barnsley are looking to sign Wolfsberger AC centre-back Michael Sollbauer this month.

The Tykes have already raided Gerhard Struber’s former club this month with the signing of experienced midfielder Marcel Ritzmaier along with fellow Austrian Kilian Ludewig from Red Bull Salzburg.

Struber has his first chance at strengthening his Barnsley squad after being appointed to succeed Daniel Stendel in November and needs to do so in order to push the side towards safety in the back end of the season.

One player that Struber has now set his sights on is another player from his former club, Wolfsberger AC. Sky Sports are reporting - revealed on their Transfer Talk morning show (22/01/2020) - it is club captain Michael Sollbauer that they are looking to sign in the coming days. The 29-year-old would help bolster their defence which is part of the youngest squad in the Championship.

The Tykes are licking the wounds of a disappointing home defeat to Preston North End in which Barnsley’s defensive frailties were highlighted and exploited in the first half, as the Lilywhites ran riot at Oakwell.

A centre-back pairing of 22-year-old Mads Andersen and 21-year-old Aapo Halme was cut open by Preston’s attack and has clearly alarmed Struber that they need reinforcements to avoid immediate relegation back to League One this season.

The verdict

Managers typically go back to their old stomping ground to find players for their new clubs that they know can perform at that level, and Struber is clearly no different as he looks to make his third signing from his native Austria.

Ritzmaier has come straight into the side and performed well in midfield so there is no reason why Sollbauer couldn’t do the same and hit the ground running.

Struber’s side are in desperate need of more experience throughout the team and he could add that at 29-years-old and currently holding the captain’s armband in the Austrian Bundesliga.

The Tykes certainly need a new addition at the back if they harbour any ambitions of staying up this month, so they should be pulling out all the stops to sign a player that Struber knows an awful lot about from his previous job.