There’s that Facebook meme of a toddler running down a corridor, seeing something ahead and then turning around in total shock and stumbling away.
That meme pretty much sums up the turnaround in fortunes of Barnsley over this season. Their ‘phoenix from the flames’ act has been startling; from near relegation last season to knocking on the door of promotion this season.
The Tykes currently hold 5th place in the Sky Bet Championship table as their own. Their 68 points place them a single point behind 3rd place Brentford and 11 behind Watford in 2nd – that last of the automatic places.
One of the players maintaining that charge is young American Daryl Dike who scored another two goals today.
READ: ‘Incredible’, ‘A Machine’ – Plenty of fans rave about Barnsley star Dike who simply cannot stop scoring
Dike breaking free – goals adding to Barnsley threat – much interest
Barnsley bringing young striker Dike in January has proven to be a masterstroke and the evidence of that is plain to see. In 13 games for the Tykes, Dike has hit the back of the net seven times, helping to sustain their play-off charge.
It is a strike rate that has brought him to the attention of the Premier League. This is evidenced by stories of one of the ‘Big Six’ submitting a $10m offer to his parent club, Orlando City SC, that was rejected.
That rejection hasn’t put off the interest – it is still out there:
I had it confirmed this morning that more than half of the Premier League’s clubs had a scout at Barnsley’s game versus Reading on Friday. There are clearly some players of interest
— Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) April 5, 2021
$10m bids rejected – interest still there – Nixon comments on a question asked
Whenever there’s a big bid that is rejected, that interest does not just disappear into the ether. The interest lingers; indeed it builds if a player continues to impress.
Dike is impressing and continuing to do so. That interest is staying and growing in magnitude. It has also got fans asking questions – one who did so of Sun reporter Alan Nixon (below).
It was a question that Nixon quote retweeted:
£20m?? I like the look of him … but you could buy Disneyworld for that. https://t.co/AXTwuiy8aH
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) April 5, 2021
It’s clear that Nixon is not of the belief that Daryl Dike is a £20m player, yet. A release clause valuation of that size would be nearly three times the offer that Orlando City turned down for him from one of the Premier League ‘Big Six’ sides.