Georgie Gent has completed a permanent move from Blackburn Rovers to Barnsley for an undisclosed fee.
The 20-year-old has joined the League One Tykes, as exclusively revealed by The Lancashire Telegraph on Wednesday.
Gent had entered the last year of his contract and it's understood he had expressed a clear desire to play regular first-team football. Rovers could not offer those assurances and, therefore, the left-sided player has been allowed to move on.
An impressive loan spell at Motherwell last season put Gent in the shop window and with his stock at a career-high, he'll now get the opportunity to test himself in the English Football League.
Gent never made a senior appearance for Rovers, having joined them from Manchester City's Academy in 2019.
“I would just like to say a massive thank you to Blackburn Rovers for the last six years,” he wrote on social media.
“I have met many great people including the staff and my team-mates, but now it is time for me to start a new chapter in my career. It wasn’t an easy decision to make but it was one that I have given a lot of thought.
“I have now decided to leave the club to progress further to give me the best opportunity to reach my goals of playing at the highest level possible.
“I’m sure we will cross paths once again in the future and I will always remember my time at the club.”
Barnsley finished sixth in League One last season before coming up short against Bolton Wanderers in the play-off semi-final.
Former Cheltenham boss Darrell Clarke took charge at Oakwell earlier this summer, succeeding Neill Collins in the hot seat.
Barnsley sporting director Mladen Sormaz told the club site: “We watched Georgie at Motherwell a lot last season and we feel he is a top prospect for the future, who also has the maturity to step straight in an make an impact this year.
"We first entered into discussions with Blackburn in May but they wanted to take him away for pre-season and assess him, so we started to work on other deals. However, we ultimately made the decision to hold out for Georgie as our top target in that position.
"So far this summer we have tried to bring in exciting young talent alongside some experienced pros and we are confident that this blend is going to give us an identity that the fans can be proud of.”
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