Barnsley Football Club News

• Nickname:The Tykes
• Founded:1887
• Manager:Keith Hill

• Ground:Oakwell
• Capacity:23,186

Tykes turn to Mannone

18 Aug 2006 - 12:08:18

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Barnsley have signed teenage Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone on a three-month loan deal.

The 18-year-old joined the Gunners last summer from Atalanta, but has yet to break into the first-team picture with last season's Champions League finalists.

Tykes boss Andy Ritchie is confident that the Italian will prove to be a valuable addition to the Oakwell squad.

He told the club's official website: "Vito will come to us for a while to see how he likes us and we like him, but we're assured he is capable of going straight into the first team if necessary.

"He's got good experience down there and played a couple of games, which is exactly what we need. We're setting our sights as high as we can within our budget."