Barnsley boss Michael Duff has revealed a loan move for Manchester City striker Slobodan Tedic will be completed before this weekend, speaking to journalist Andy Giddings.

The 22-year-old has recently been with PEC Zwolle in the Dutch top-tier, spending two years with Dick Schreuder's side but only managing to score twice in 38 league appearances for them.

Both of these goals came during the 2020/21 campaign with the Serbian failing to record a single league goal last term, though he did pop up once in the Netherlands' domestic cup competition.

 

 

Even though Zwolle are seemingly not pursuing a fresh move for the 22-year-old, he was always unlikely to be a regular first-teamer under Pep Guardiola during the 2022/23 season considering the options he already has at his disposal, even with Gabriel Jesus leaving the Etihad.

And that has enabled the Tykes to swoop with Cauley Woodrow and Carlton Morris' departures leaving a big gap up front for manager Duff to fill. Not only have the previous key duo left - but also George Miller, Patrick Schmidt and former first-teamer Victor Adeboyejo who has gone on to sign for league rivals Burton Albion since then.

Thankfully for the South Yorkshire side, a deal for Tedic is close and Duff believes it will be finalised today or tomorrow.

The Verdict:

This seems like a decent move for the Tykes - because the Serbian already has experience of playing at the top level in the Netherlands and this should set him up well for League One football.

His goalscoring record last term is a concern - but he's taking two steps down with this move to the English third tier and that should mean he can get in and amongst the goals a lot more.

For City, it's a destination where they can offload the forward and though he's unlikely to break into City's first team at all considering recent seasons and his age, it will give Guardiola's side one last chance to assess him.

For the player though, he would probably want to seal a permanent move away this summer, so the fact he isn't able to must be frustrating with the 22-year-old needing to ply his trade elsewhere if he wants to fulfil his potential.

The fact he can stay in England is a boost though and he may not even have to relocate, so it will be interesting to see how he gets on at Oakwell with the Tykes potentially wanting to compete for promotion with the likes of Michal Helik and Callum Styles still at their disposal.