Wigan Athletic have received another bid for young starlet Kyle Joseph - and it's another one from Championship side Barnsley, according to The Sun's Alan Nixon.
As per Andy Giddings of the BBC, the Tykes made a 'substantial' offer for the 19-year-old last week, with Wigan's administrators confirming that a bid had been knocked back from a Championship club for Joseph's services.
But Joseph is in high demand - he currently has five goals in 13 games (transfermarkt) - and with a number of suitors looking at him, including Premier League giants Tottenham (who tried to sign him in the summer) and the Glasgow duo of Rangers and Celtic, Barnsley are looking to get things done.
Nixon has reported that another approach has been made by the Yorkshire club for Joseph, and this time it's an offer of £500,00 up-front, all of which is guaranteed money with no performance-related add-ons.
The journalist also confirmed that the bidding war has knocked Wigan's league rivals Blackpool out of the race, who had made the first concrete offer for the Scotland under-19 international.
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The Verdict
With Wigan's ownership still in the hands of administrators and no party yet to be given exclusivity despite multiple offers for the club, more sales may need to be made by the Latics, despite knocking back bids for Joseph, Tom Pearce and Sean McGurk last week.
And if a bidding war can be sparked for the teenage striker, then that will suit the admin's just fine as they try and make the most money possible in the interim for the Latics.
Joseph is clearly highly-rated at the DW Stadium - even the administrators can see that - so it will be bittersweet should an offer be accepted, but Joseph has shown attributes to play at the highest level, and if Barnsley can swoop by making their move early, then it could end up being a huge coup for Valerien Ismael.