BARNSLEY Football Club agreed a deal for Swindon Town star Brian Howard in mid-May 2005.

The 22-year-old left sided midfielder agreed a two-year contract keeping him at Oakwell until the summer of 2007 on May 10, 2005, and will officially become a Reds player on July 1 when his contract at the County Ground expires.

Brian was born in Winchester and came up through the ranks at Southampton but failed to make the break through at Saints and made the move to Swindon in 2003. Despite not making a first team appearance for Southampton, Brian was a regular in the England youth set up and made four appearances for the Under 20s in the 2003 Toulon Tournament.

A regular for Swindon over the last two seasons, Brian has made 83 first team appearances for the Robins, netting nine goals. He featured against Barnsley at Oakwell back in October 2004.

Brian has rejected the offer of a new deal at Swindon and turned down the chance to join another League One club in favour of a move to Oakwell.

After recovering from a fractured metatarsal, Brian firmly established himself as a goalscoring midfielder throughout 2005/2006 and formed an outstanding partnership alongside Stephen McPhail in the Reds' engine room.

Brian was brilliant in 2006/2007 as his all-action displays from midfield helped keep the Reds in the Championship. He netted eight goals in 44 games and picked up just about every award at the end of the season. Signed a new deal in the summer of 2007.