Barnsley chief executive Khaled El-Ahmed has revealed that initial talks have occurred with veteran manager Neil Warnock over the vacancy at Oakwell.

Despite announcing his retirement from football management back in April following 42 years in the dugout, Warnock is still being courted by clubs - Barnsley being no exception.

Following his retirement, Warnock revealed that he would have taken the Tykes job back in November when Poya Asbaghi was appointed as Markus Schopp's successor, having just left his post at Middlesbrough.

Barnsley went with the Swede though, and what followed was relegation to League One, having finished bottom of the pile in the second tier.

Warnock has since announced his retirement from football and is even confirmed to be going on tour on a road show later on in 2022, but could be about to make a shock u-turn just two months later?

Having played for Barnsley between 1976 and 1978, Warnock could be considered an ideal candidate if he was keen on the job, and El-Ahmed has confirmed that discussions have happened and will continue.

“I reached out to Neil and I will be speaking to him again," El-Ahmed told the Barnsley Chronicle.

"We haven’t got that far with him. There could be more names added to the final list.”

The Verdict

It would be the mother of all u-turns if Warnock were to return to management just two months after departing.

Despite his claims though, it was always a possibility that Warnock would be tempted back for the ideal job, and if El-Ahmed is still set to talk with him then there must be a serious possibility that his return to Oakwell could happen.

As history tells us, Warnock is a good manager in the Championship, but would he drop to League One?

Perhaps he would for a club close to his heart, and although he could live a nice, retired life in Devon, there may always be a pull for him to have just one last job - Barnsley could be just that.