Barnsley are embarking upon a new era this summer following the departure of Valerien Ismael and the appointment of Markus Schopp as their new manager.

It will be a very difficult task for the new Barnsley boss to emulate the achievements of Ismael at Oakwell next term given that the 45-year-old managed to guide the club to an unexpected top-six finish in the Championship last term.

However, the Tykes still have a lot of quality young players within their squad and that should help them be at least competitive once again in the English second tier.

The Tykes have a core of quality English players in their squad at the moment as they have done throughout the last 15 years. If Barnsley can get the best out of those next term once again then they could be set for another strong season.

With that in mind, we take a look at Barnsley’s strongest possible XI made up of purely English players from the last 15 years with a 3-4-1-2 formation selected…

There are not too many standout goalkeepers to choose from for Barnsley in terms of English stoppers over the last 15 years.

However, Brad Collins might be able to change all of that if he continues his impressive form from the second half of last term heading into next season.

For this line-up though we have decided to go with Luke Steele and he is more than worthy of his inclusion here given the level of performances that he was able to produce for the Tykes and for the fact that he was able to make well over 200 appearances for them.

Steele was a reliable presence for them between the sticks and spent five whole campaigns as their first choice in the Championship between 2009/10 and 2013/14. During that time he played an instrumental role in helping the club avoid relegation despite some challenging periods.

It is also worth noting that memorable performance that he produced on his debut for the Tykes during their remarkable FA Cup win away at Liverpool in February 2008.

The keeper then went on to keep a clean sheet in another shock win this time at home to Chelsea as Barnsley reached the semi-finals of the competition.

The keeper went on to secure himself a transfer to Greek side Panathinaikos in the summer of 2014 following Barnsley’s relegation from the Championship the campaign before.

John Stones only managed to make 28 first-team appearances for Barnsley during the last 15 years, but he makes this side here because of the amount of things he has gone on to achieve in the game at club level and for the England national team in the years since.

The defender was first handed the chance to impress for Barnsley during the 2011/12 campaign, but it was the following season where he went on to break properly into their starting line-up.

Stones managed to make 22 league appearances in the first half of the 2012/13 season and his form was very impressive making him instantly stand out as one of the best prospects in the Championship.

The Englishman’s form in the first half of that 2012/13 season caught the attention of Everton and they decided to make a permanent move for him in January 2013.

Over the next three campaigns, the defender proved to have been a bargain signing by the Toffees and he delivered a string of impressive Premier League performances.

Stones’ England debut came in 2014 and he has since gone onto be a crucial part of Gareth Southgate’s squad that made the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-finals and also the final of this summer’s Euros.

The defender left Everton for Manchester City in a near £50 million move and he has since gone onto win three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups.

Coming into the back three alongside Stones is another defender that showed a lot of promise during his spell with Barnsley in the last 15 years in the shape of Alfie Mawson

Mawson was signed by Barnsley in the summer of 2015 having failed to make the grade at Brentford, who are club that very rarely make mistakes with players in the transfer market, but did so on this occasion.

His form during his debut campaign with the club in League One was fantastic and he played a pivotal role in the Tykes gaining promotion back to the Championship.

During the 2015/16 season, Mawson managed to make 58 appearances in all competitions and added seven goals as well as being a commanding presence in their defence.

That saw the defender help Barnsley secure the promotion via the play-offs and also allowed them to lift the EFL Trophy in what was a very successful campaign for the club.

However, he would only make five appearances the following season before Swansea City came in for him in the summer of 2016.

Since his exit, Mawson managed to earn a lot of plaudits for his Premier League performances for Swansea before eventually making a big-money move to Fulham. That move has not worked out though and he spent time out on loan with Bristol City last season.

Rounding off the back three in this line-up is Marc Roberts and he is another one of the quality centre-backs that the Tykes have had in their side during the last 15 years.

Like both Stones and Mawson, he ended making a move away from the Tykes off the back of impressive form for them.

Roberts arrived at Oakwell in the summer of 2015 after he had displayed impressive form for Halifax Town in non-league football and showed that he had the potential to make the step-up to the Football League.

The 2015/16 campaign saw the defender managed to play a crucial role alongside Mawson as he made 41 appearances to help the club earn promotion to the Championship.

The defender was then able to show that he could adapt to the Championship with some promising performances during the 2016/17 campaign. In total, he managed to make 40 league appearances and scored four goals in the process to help the club earn a 14^th place finish.

Birmingham City then made the move to sign Roberts on a long-term deal from Barnsley in the summer of 2017 and he has been a key player for the Blues ever since.

Coming into the line-up in the right-wing-back position is Kieran Trippier. It is hard to recall a player that has played for the Tykes in the last 15 years that has had more ability than he was able to show both for the Tykes and also since his short spell with the club.

Trippier spent just over a single campaign with Barnsley and that came with him first arriving on loan from Manchester City in February 2010 and then he spent the full campaign with the club in 2010/11.

During that full campaign, the right-back managed to standout with his quality deliveries into the box and also weighed in with two goals in his 41 appearances.

Barnsley would have hoped to maintain his services for a longer period but during the summer of 2011 he ended up signing for Burnley instead.

At Turf Moor, Trippier excelled and helped them earn promotion to the Premier League in 2013/14 before emerging as one of the best right-backs in the top-flight in 2014/15.

That earned him a move to Tottenham Hotspur where he spent four full seasons before moving to Atletico Madrid with who he won La Liga last term.

It is also worth noting Trippier played a key role for England in both the 2018 FIFA World Cup and this summer’s Euros as well.

The first midfielder that makes it into this starting line-up of Barnsley’s best English players from the last 15 years is Alex Mowatt.

Mowatt’s inclusion is fully justified considering that there are few players that have demonstrated as much quality for the Tykes, and who have been able to generate as much drive from the middle of the park as the 26-year-old did during this period.

The midfielder was signed by the Tykes in January 2017 with him making the move from Leeds United where he had been a key player after emerging through their academy.

Mowatt was not able to instantly impress at Oakwell and he managed just 11 league appearances in the 2016/17 campaign before he spent time out on loan with Oxford United in 2017/18.

However, after returning from that loan spell with Oxford in the summer of 2018 Mowatt became a key player for the Tykes in their quest to earn promotion back to the Championship.

The midfielder was ever-present for them in League One under Daniel Stendel and he managed to score eight goals in the league to help them earn promotion.

In the 2019/20 campaign, Mowatt continued to impress for Barnsley and he scored three league goals and provided eight assists in his 44 appearances to help the Tykes just about avoid relegation.

Last term, Mowatt’s form made him one of the best midfielders in the Championship and Ismael got the best out of him as he fired in eight goals and seven assists for the Tykes as they reached the play-offs.

However, the midfielder has now decided to make the switch with Ismael to West Brom this summer following the expiration of his contract at Oakwell.

Alongside Mowatt in the middle of the park is Brian Howard and it is difficult to think of anyone else who would be more deserving of taking the second spot in midfield in this side.

Howard proved to be an excellent signing for Barnsley after they brought him in from Swindon Town in the summer of 2005.

The midfielder’s debut season for the Tykes falls outside of the period we are concerned with here, but in the 2006/07 campaign, he managed to score eight goals in 42 league games to help keep the club in the division.

The following campaign, Howard played a pivotal role once again and managed to fire home an impressive tally of 13 league goals in his 41 appearances.

While he also scored that famous winning goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup at Anfield before helping the Tykes make it all the way to the semi-finals of the competition.

He spent time out on loan with Sheffield United in the 2008/09 campaign before he made a permanent departure to the Blades.

However, he was undoubtedly an excellent player for Barnsley during his spell with the club. He went onto have spells with the likes of Reading, Millwall, Bristol City, Birmingham City and CSKA Sofia.

Barnsley’s current first-choice left-wing-back makes it into this side and Callum Styles firmly deserves his place here due to the excellent form he has displayed since coming into the Tykes’ first-team squad during the last few years.

Styles managed to play a small part in Barnsley’s 2018/19 promotion-winning season from League One with the 21-year-old managing to make seven league appearances for them that term.

However, there would be more chances for him in 2019/20 when he was handed 17 appearances in the Championship and played a vital role in helping them survive the drop.

The left-wing-back was excellent for the Tykes last season in the Championship and Ismael got the very best out of him during his 44 appearances in the league.

He managed to weigh in with four goals and three assists and he was a constant threat down Barnsley’s left-hand side and was also able to be strong defensively when needed.

Coming into the side in perhaps an unconventional position is Adam Hammill, however, you could see him providing a lot of creativity and quality in this system if he was handed a free role like this behind the front two.

Hammill certainly deserves an inclusion in this starting line-up thanks to his excellent performances for the Tykes across three separate spells in the last 15 years.

The winger first spent time on loan with Barnsley during the 2008/09 campaign and he managed to score one goal in 14 appearances in the Championship to convince the club to make the move a permanent one the following summer.

That proved to be an astute purchase and he was a key player for the next one-and-a-half campaigns weighing in with 13 goals in 86 games.

A move to Wolves followed in January 2011 but the winger struggled to make much of an impression and ended up returning to the Tykes after a spell with Huddersfield Town in November 2015.

Hammill’s second spell saw him play a vital role in taking the club back into the Championship and winning the EFL Trophy after scoring nine times in 33 games in the 2015/16 season.

He was then able to be a key player the next two campaigns in the Championship before he left the club at the end of the 2017/18 season.

The first forward that makes this line-up is current Barnsley number nine Cauley Woodrow and he is fully deserving of his place having been arguably the Tykes’ best English forward during the last 15 years.

Woodrow always looked like a forward with potential even during his days at Fulham where he struggled to be a regular starter for them.

His move to Barnsley has properly kick-started his career and he initially arrived on loan in the 2018/19 season and fired home seven goals in 14 games before his move was turned into a permanent one.

In the second half of the 2018/19 campaign, Woodrow continued to be a crucial member of Stendel’s side and he finished the season with a further 12 goals in 14 appearances as the Tykes earned promotion.

There might have been some doubts over whether he could do it in the Championship, but those were swiftly put to bed with him firing home 13 goals and also providing five assists in 44 appearances in 2019/20 to play a critical role in helping the Tykes somehow survive the drop.

Last term, Ismael again had Woodrow as a key player and sometimes asked him to drop a little deeper than normal and play a different role for his side.

He still scored 14 goals and got two assists in his 40 appearances in the league as he helped the club reach the play-off semi-finals.

It was a tough choice for the final spot upfront, but in the end, we have decided to opt for Sam Winnall who was undoubtedly an excellent performer for the Tykes during his spell at Oakwell.

Winnall arrived at Barnsley with expectations on his shoulders in the summer of 2014 after he had fired home 23 league goals for Scunthorpe United in League Two in the 2-13/14 season.

The forward managed to register 13 goals in all competitions as the Tykes endured an underwhelming 2014/15 season in the third tier.

However, the following year, Winnall would prove to be an excellent performer for them and he fired in an impressive tally of 24 goals in 56 games in all competitions to help the Tykes earn promotion and secure the Football League Trophy.

11 goals in 22 appearances in the first half of the following season in the Championship saw him show he could do it in the English second tier and prompted Sheffield Wednesday to poach him from the Tykes in January 2017.

He spent an underwhelming three-and-a-half seasons with the Owls and scored just six goals before permanently joining Oxford United last summer.