Reds boss Keith Hill must go back to the drawing board in his search for short-term improvements to the squad after Doncaster Rovers winger James Coppinger turned down the chance of a loan deal at Oakwell.
Hill is without up to ten first team players for the trip to the South Coast to face Brighton on Saturday and had hoped to bring in 31 year old Rovers stalwart Coppinger on a one month deal. However the former Newcastle and Exeter man who has been with Barnsley's South Yorkshire rivals for eight years has turned down the move, claiming he wants a permanent switch back to the Championship rather than a short-term one. Hill is still hopeful in securing a loan move for Manchester City's Jeremy Helan however. There has been some good news at Oakwell today after John Stones capped probably the best fortnight of his life by signing a new contract, tying him to the club until 2015. 18 year old full-back Stones signed his first professional contract with the club in the summer before making a goal-scoring debut in the League Cup at Rochdale and then impressed in the Championship opener against Middlesbrough. Only yesterday he found out he had been called up to the England U19 squad and today penned his future to his boyhood side. Hill told the club's official website: “I’m really happy for John Stones and happy with the progress he’s made at this football club,” “It’s great when you see the type of foundation work and the plan we’ve got envisaged for this club starting to materialise. It’s only early days for John Stones and Paul Digby and the other young players. “There’s got to be a futuristic view as well. This word that’s not liked within football circles is ‘development’ – we’re going to develop these players. “It’s good to have these young players from the Barnsley area representing Barnsley. “There’s a certain amount of risk to tying players up, depending on the finances. But there are certain risks that have got to be taken. We have got to tie down some of the regular first-team players because they will be sought after as Matty Done is by other Championship clubs.”Source: FOOTYMAD
