Barnsley fans in uproar over possible fee for defender

Speculation is currently rife around Barnsley in regard to the expected sale of Michal Helik and the fee the club are prepared to accept for a player who is a Polish international and one of the top performers at Barnsley football club.

Much has been talked online of a possible deal in the range of £1.5m which although not confirmed this megre figure for a player who topped the stats for Championship defenders last season has rightly riled reds supporters up. With players of similar stature at other clubs being sold for far more, fans have been questioning the board's attitude in transfer dealings.

A snapshot of Twitter shows how strong the feeling is amongst the fanbase especially given the £7m shortfall the club have to find due to relegation. Many fans are thinking, Could the club not have made the £7m in just two player sales rather than selling off the majority of the better players?

There’s no other club in the country who would let a 26 year old , 6 ft 3, fully fledged international, Championship team of the season centre half go for a reported £1.2 mil, except Barnsley. Literally no other club could get so little. Embarrassing — Josh (@joshathertonn) August 2, 2022

@RedsReport_ @tykes_blog Just me thinking Khaled needs to explain why players are being sold "on the cheap" compared to other clubs prices ? We're the poundland of the football league and it's embarrassing !!!! — Steve Andrews (@Stevie_1965) August 2, 2022

Woodrow, Brittain, Helik and Morris. Those 4 marquee players should be getting us at least 10M, we've gotten 5.5M (roughly). If we want to move on from this 'small club' mentality and stigma, get the correct prices for the players. — Jack (@JackHall1239) August 2, 2022

Helik for €1.5 mill is a joke. If Adam Webster went to Brighton for £20 million how much is Helik actually worth? Just shows that the board take the first offer and have no intention of ever progressing. — James Swann (@swanny161) August 2, 2022

Whilst it is difficult to actually establish what negotiations have been ongoing as the board never talk of transfer dealings outside of the boardroom and the club always announce any player sale as “undisclosed”, the measly sums talked about for Helik are criminal and fans want the club to hold out for a fee more realistic for an international player.

However, what fans want and what we get are two very different things. Surely it is clear to all that accepting such a small fee for Helik is bordering on criminal when there are still several weeks on the transfer window to play hard ball with clubs and hold out for more money.