The January window could be a vital period for Barnsley, who look favourites for relegation from the Championship this season as things stand. 

The Tykes are only one place above the bottom of the table and are now just three points above Derby County, who have been deducted a total of 21 points this term.

A frenzied 5-4 win over League Two Barrow in the FA Cup over the weekend is not the confidence-building victory that Poya Asbaghi will have been hoping for but it should give them a bit of momentum heading back into Championship fixtures.

The Swedish coach revealed ahead of the weekend that he was hoping to strengthen his squad sooner rather than later, so with that in mind, we've outlined two Barnsley transfer sagas to keep an eye on this week...

The pursuit of Matt O'Riley

MK Dons midfielder Matt O'Riley's future appears up in the air at the moment with his impressive form in the first half of the season drawing the attention of a string of clubs, including the Tykes.

O'Riley has added six goals and six assists this term in League One but with Bournemouth, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough, Rangers and Swansea also thought to be keen (Sky Sports’ Transfer Centre (31/12, 15:16)) landing him may be tough.

The Swans are said to be frontrunners given the 21-year-old's relationship with manager Russell Martin and with so many sides in pursuit, we may well see some movement this week.

Whether that will be good news for Barnsley, however, remains to be seen.

Callum Styles' future

Asbaghi has spoken out about the need for reinforcements but the potential departure of Callum Styles is something that may be worth keeping an eye on.

Celtic have been linked with the 21-year-old and were said to be weighing up a move for him this month (The Sun on Sunday (19/9 print edition, page 69)).

The Barnsley boss indicated on Friday that he'd not heard of any bids made for his players and hinted that he was not looking to let go of players that are playing.

But an offer from north of the border could change that, particularly if it would allow Asbaghi to strengthen the squad significantly elsewhere.