Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber has outlined how the club are being frustrated in their pursuit of signing a free agent centre-back to help bolster their defence ahead of a push for survival.

The Tykes are currently battling against relegation in the Championship under Austrian manager Gerhard Struber, as they sit six points adrift of 21st place with 13 games to play.

The January transfer window saw Struber look to strengthen his side with additions from his native league, seeing Austrian trio Marcel Ritzmaier, Kilian Ludewig, and Michael Sollbauer arrive at Oakwell.

Sollbauer has come in to help shore up the defence alongside the likes of Mads Andersen and Aapo Halme but hasn’t quite done enough to help completely rid the defence of their mistakes.

Struber has confirmed that the club are in pursuit of a centre-back in the free agents market to help build more consistency towards the relegation run-in.

However, the manager has also alluded that the club are struggling in their efforts to truy get another defender over the line before it becomes too late. Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Struber reflected on their current situation: "We are looking but it is not close.

"It is not easy to find the right player. When I am 100 per cent clear a player can help us from the first second, then I will take him.

"I think it is not easy to find a player who will come and help us straightaway in our situation and this is the challenge right now.

"The problem with players who are free agents is that they don't have the fitness that we need.

"We have no time to have an integration for four or five weeks and this is the biggest challenge; to find a player with the right fitness and right attitude.

"And this is not easy when looking at the free-agent market."

Barnsley only have 13 games to salvage their season and they need to muster up enough form to close a six-point gap to Stoke City.

Can you get 16/16 in this Barnsley quiz?

The verdict

Struber is right to stress how difficult it is to find the right solution in the free agents market so late in the season.

The Tykes need someone to come in and immediately make an impact on the first-team and it’s not guaranteed that they would come in and do that.

Their fitness is the main issue, with players having not been with a club for so long, showing that they would need to get up to speed for the first few weeks.

It’s unclear whether Barnsley’s current setup will be enough to see them stave off the drop but they certainly need to improve in the coming weeks.