Barnsley have had a difficult start to life back in English football’s second tier following their promotion last season, but here’s who we think has stood out for the Tykes this year.

It would be fair to say that Barnsley haven’t had an easy time of it since they returned to the Sky Bet Championship this season following their one season exodus back in League One. The Tykes currently occupy one of the bottom three spots and sit just five points away from Stoke City and Charlton Athletic above them.

Following the sacking of Daniel Stendel back in October the Tykes have hovered in and around the bottom three of the division and opted to go for a similar route with Stendel’s successor with Gerhard Struber. The Austrian has won eight of his first 22 games, which suggests an upturn in form from the Tykes.

Here then, we look at two players who have impressed us in the red of Barnsley this season…

Cauley Woodrow

There wasn’t any other place to start than the main man up top for the Tykes. Woodrow has been outstanding this campaign and has notched an impressive 15 goals in all competitions and for a side who are dangerously flirting with relegation, that is some feat.

The tall centre-forward can play a magnitude of roles up front. He can use his height to his advantage for Barnsley to go long into when they need to be slightly more direct, this allows Woodrow to showcase his ability to hold the ball up and bring his attack-minded midfielders into play. Alex Mowatt has been one to benefit from this attribute this season with the midfielder getting on the end of the knockdowns to force an effort on goal.

Woodrow is nippy and quick for a tall striker and likes to get in behind. This allows Barnsley to stretch the game as they can play searching balls into the channels knowing that Woodrow has the pace to not only retrieve the ball but to also produce a moment of magic to create an opening. His pace and physicality make him an ideal pressing forward as he can quickly close down opposing defenders looking to play their way out from defence as well as having the tactical flexibility to cut down passing lanes and force mistakes.

The attribute that every striker gets judged on is their goals and Woodrow has massively come in clutch for Barnsley in that department so far this year. He has been like a predator in the box with his goal against Hull showing his ability to finish instinctively. Following a scramble in the six-yard area, Woodrow reacted first to prod home and secure the points for the Tykes.

If Barnsley are to stay in the division this season, the form and tactical flexibility of their prolific attacker is set to play a huge role.

Alex Mowatt

The Barnsley skipper and former Leeds United midfielder Mowatt has been one of the few Barnsley players to have made the step from Sky Bet League One to the Sky Bet Championship look easy. The box-to-box midfielder has impressed in a Tykes shirt again this season and has contributed three goals and seven assists in just 34 league starts.

Mowatt joined Barnsley in the January of 2017 but was sent on a season long loan spell with Oxford United the following window. He returned to Oakwell following the club’s relegation back to League One and that season he became a major part in the club’s bid to attain automatic promotion at the first time of asking. Now a regular in their Sky Bet Championship side, Mowatt has developed into the midfielder that showed promise in his early years.

Mowatt has been deployed this year in a deeper role to create the link between midfield and attack. His ability to get from box-to-box quickly and efficiently is the reason he has been able to register as many goal scoring opportunities that he has.