Barnsley have today confirmed via the club's official website that Ben Williams will be joining Cheltenham on a permanent basis.

The 22-year-old is still only very early on in his career but has already racked up nearly 50 appearances in the EFL and has looked solid along the way. He's spent the entirety of that time with Barnsley, making appearances for them in League One and then up into the Championship.

This year, the player has featured five times so far in the league and with no more gametime looking likely for the player at the Tykes, he has now been allowed to leave for Cheltenham.

The club are getting themselves a player who already has plenty of know-how in that league and can already do a job despite his age - and he also has the potential to get even better given regular action at the club.

Barnsley fans are understandably sad to see the player depart too, with him featuring 11 times for them in that promotion season despite being just 19 years of age. He featured even more when they were back in the Championship - and it means that while Tykes supporters understand the decision to let him leave, they are still sad to see him shown the door.

Barnsley fans then feel that he could go on to be a great player at League One level and considering his experience in the third tier at such a young age, there is no reason why he couldn't return to that division and be impressive for Cheltenham.

Michael Duff's side then have bagged themselves a decent player - and Barnsley fans are already full of praise for the defender and are eager to wish him well at his new club.

The Verdict

Ben Williams was not going to get much more action at Barnsley, so allowing him to leave during this window is probably the right move for club and player.

The defender has served the Tykes well and is still only young, so could even end up back at Oakwell in the future. If he impresses in League One for Cheltenham, then that could certainly be the case later on down the line.

There is no reason why he shouldn't either. Having already garnered a lot of gametime and experience at that level - and now higher in the Championship - he should have no issue making the step down again and becoming a key player for Michael Duff. If he can continue his development well, then he could even become one of the better defenders in the entire division.

Let's also not forget that Williams is only 22-years-old. There is plenty of time for him to become a top-level defender in the EFL and if he can get some regular gametime at Cheltenham, then that could certainly help his cause. The player then has seemingly made the right move, especially with the current turmoil that surrounds Barnsley.