Barnsley have somewhat surprisingly sold young midfielder Luke Berry back to former club Cambridge United this afternoon.
The 22 year old arrived at Oakwell last summer from the East Anglian side after helping them win promotion to the Football League via the play-offs in 2013-2014.
Berry impressed under former boss Danny Wilson making 28 appearances. He made a further nine under Lee Johnson, but only three were starts.
However the Cambridge trainee was expected to become a key player next season, making the decision to allow him to leave today even more surprising. In a statement the club revealed they had received a “significant offer” two weeks ago and that Cambridge had increased it this week, which persuaded Barnsley to accept and allow the player to discuss terms.
Barnsley have also revealed they “retain a financial interest” in Berry meaning if he is sold on in the future The Reds will receive a percentage of the fee.
The full statement read:
Barnsley Football Club can confirm that Luke Berry has today joined Cambridge United on a permanent basis.
Luke started last season very well and showed consistent determination and work-rate. Overall Luke made 37 appearances and scored two goals. However, Cambridge made initial contact with our Club over two weeks ago and expressed their desire to re-sign Luke and made the Club a significant offer.
He had been a near ever-present in the first team squad, but more latterly the footballing philosophy which Lee Johnson has implemented resulted in Luke not playing as many games in his natural position as he would have liked at this stage of his career. Discussions were then held between the player and Lee and after further negotiations with Cambridge, the offer rose to a level that the Club believed was of good value and was prepared to accept.
Therefore, it was decided that, in the best interests of all concerned, the Club would accept the increased offer from Cambridge and Luke was given permission to speak to them. He did so and took his time to decide on the transfer. Luke decided to move and has today completed his medical with Cambridge and the paperwork has just been concluded. As part of the transfer, the Club retain a financial interest in Luke’s future.
The Club would like to thank Luke for his commitment and efforts while at Oakwell, where he will always be welcome and we wish him all the very best for the future.