Barnsley have announced the signing of 16-year-old defender Amir Ariely.

The young centre-back, who will wear the number 36, has moved over to Oakwell from Israel.

He will join up with Barnsley’s under-18 side for the 2019/20 Professional Development League campaign.

The signing was announced today by the Barnsley Academy Twitter account.

The teenager appears to have been working with the club already, as he posted images of himself representing the Tykes last week with the caption “new beginning”.

After getting promoted from League One last season, Barnsley currently sit 22nd in the Championship, only in the relegation zone on goals scored.

They lost 2-0 to Leeds United on Sunday but Whites boss Marcelo Bielsa was very complimentary of Daniel Stendel’s side following the result and suggested it was incredible that they were close to the bottom of the table.

The Tykes face a trip to the City Ground to play Nottingham Forest on the weekend.

The Verdict

Since arriving at the club, Stendel has worked to build a young squad of players at Oakwell and Ariely looks to be part of that strategy.

The defender is the latest in a string of young players to join the squad since the end of last season, with 11 of the Tykes' 12 additions during the transfer window being 23 or younger.

Little is known about the 16-year-old but his arrival is certainly on-brand with what Barnsley have tried to do under the German coach.

It is difficult to assess quite how good an addition this is but clearly the Yorkshire club believe Ariely is a talented young defender with potential that they can develop.

It will be interesting to see how he gets on over the next few years.