This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Barnsley are reportedly interested in a deal to sign Ipswich Town midfielder Flynn Downes according to Football Insider. 

Downes has been with Ipswich since 2006, and has gone on to make 99 senior appearances for the Tractor Boys in total. 25 of those appearances came in the 2020/21 season, as Ipswich missed out on a top-six finish in League One, much to the frustration of the Portman Road faithful.

It appears as though Downes' strong performances in recent months haven't gone unnoticed though, with Barnsley reportedly keen on reaching an agreement to land his signature.

The Tykes finished fifth in the Championship this season, but missed out on promotion into the Premier League after being beaten by AFC Bournemouth in their play-off semi-final.

We ask our Football League World writers what they make of Barnsley's interest in signing Downes this summer, and whether he'd be a good addition to the Tykes' team or not.

Toby Wilding:

This could be a decent signing for Barnsley, if they are indeed able to get it done.

Downes is a player whose past links with the Premier League suggest he has plenty of potential, meaning he may well be capable of making an impact in the Championship next season.

Indeed, at just 22-years-old, there is still plenty of time for Downes to develop and improve in his career, meaning he could be one for the future who could bring Barnsley a useful fee in the next few years, so the Tykes could be bringing in something of an asset if they get this deal done.

The fact that Downes would be another young midfielder in what is already something of an inexperienced set of options in the centre of the park could be something of a concern, but you do still feel as though the potential benefits of this signing mean it is one that could be worth looking into for Barnsley.

Chris Gallagher:

This is the perfect Barnsley signing.

They have been masters of identifying lower league talents who are capable of handling the step up to the Championship and improving, and Downes would fit the bill on that front.

He is a classy operator in the middle of the park and that quality on the ball would help the Tykes who did become a bid predictable at times last season, although they were still terrific. The fact Downes has been linked with Premier League clubs in the past shows that he has the ability and Oakwell would be the ideal platform for him to kick-on and show what he can do.

Overall, this would be yet another smart addition from the impressive Barnsley recruitment team.

Jordan Rushworth:

These are exactly the sort of signings that you expect from Barnsley this summer and Flynn Downes is a player that you could see them picking up. The Tykes would be very wise to make this move and you would expect the midfielder to flourish in the setup that Valerien Ismael has put in place at Oakwell.

Downes at one stage was a player that was attracting interest from the Premier League such was the quality of his performances for Ipswich Town. However, since then, things have not gone as smoothly for the midfielder and he has not had as much of an impact at Portman Road as would have been expected of him.

There is no doubt though that the midfielder has a lot of quality and is someone with a high ceiling if someone can get hold of him and start to get the best from him on a consistent basis. Barnsley have already shown they are the perfect home for players with his talent that need to be given the right environment to fulfill their potential.

This is a signing that ticks all the right boxes for both Downes and Barnsley. They would both benefit greatly from this move if it were to come off you would think.