Barnsley striker Elliot Simoes has signed a new long-term contract with the Tykes, the Championship club have confirmed.

Simoes joined Barnsley from non-league side FC United of Manchester back in January 2019 on a three-and-a-half-year deal, and has since gone on to make ten appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring his first senior goal in his side's 2-1 defeat at Derby County back at the start of January.

Now it seems as though Simoes' performances have been enough to earn him an extended contract at the club, with the forward putting pen to paper on a new three-and-a-half-year contract that is set to keep him at Oakwell until the end of the 2022/23 season.

Speaking to Barnsley's official website following confirmation of that new deal, Simoes said: “It’s been a good year since I’ve been at the club, and the club has really taken care of me – all the staff, every player – as I’m one of the younger players because it was a big step up from where I came from.

"I had to get used to the environment and the football; it’s been really helpful and it just shows that they’ve got a lot of faith in me and believe I’ll do well.”

Manager Gerhard Struber seemed equally pleased at the confirmation of Simoes' new contract, with the Tykes boss saying: "Elliot has really impressed me since I arrived. He is a big talent but what is really important is his energy, desire and work ethic.

"I am convinced that not only will Elliot be a big player for us in the next games, but also the next years.”

Barnsley are currently 23rd in the Championship standings, five points adrift of safety with ten games of the Championship season remaining ahead of the visit of Cardiff City to Oakwell on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

I think this is a smart piece of business from Barnsley.

With Simoes having previously been in the youth setups at clubs such as Sporting and Benfica back in his native Portugal, it seems he has always been a player with the potential to play at a high level.

That is something he has now started to show with Barnsley this season, highlighting his ability to cope with a change in environment having only played a handful of non-league games at senior level prior to this.

As a result, with Barnsley's future in the Championship beyond the end of this seemingly uncertain, it does make sense for them to tie Simoes down longer-term now, to give them the best possible chance of fending off any rivals clubs who may make their interest in the attacker known sooner or later, something you could understand them doing.