New signing Devante Cole spoke of his pleasure at re-joining Barnsley seven years after an initial loan spell during the 14/15 campaign.
The forward, who was a teenager at the time, scored seven goals in all competitions for the Reds before going on to have permanent moves with Bradford City, Fleetwood Town, Wigan Athletic and, more recently, Motherwell.
“I’m delighted with it,” insisted Cole. “I really enjoyed my time first time I was here and saw what they did last year, so I’m just excited to be a part of it all.
“I really enjoyed playing my football here and the fans were always really good and it was my first loan where I scored my first ever professional goal, so I think this will always be a special place for me.
“It’s always easier to go back somewhere you know – familiar faces – but especially somewhere where you’ve done well before and you have a good feeling about it. That’s definitely a big factor in me coming back.”
His arrival adds more depth to an already talented forward line, with the 26-year-old providing stiff competition for Victor Adeboyejo, Conor Chaplin, Dominik Frieser, Carlton Morris and Cauley Woodrow.
As is the case with all of our attackers, Cole is versatile and capable of playing across the front three and he is happy to be utilised anywhere by Valérien Ismaël.
“To be fair, I can play all three positions,” he continued. “I’ve always been central but, recently, I’ve played off the left a little bit and I’ve seen the way they all like to rotate.
“As the manager has said to me, he does pick and choose players for certain games but, all in all, I think everyone is always rotated and that’s the best way now to play a three.”
The winter window saw Morris and Daryl Dike come through the doors at Oakwell, with both going on to make a tremendous impact in the second half of the campaign.
Cole is hoping that he can be as effective as those who came before him and carry on his fine form from the Scottish Premiership where he notched 12 goals with Motherwell.
“I can only be encouraged by that,” asserted the striker. “Seeing what Dike has done, coming in and scoring nine goals and Carlton has done the same and done really well.
“So I’m looking at that and thinking, with a good pre-season, hopefully I can do the same and kick on.”
