Stephen Mallan completes move to Championship side Barnsley

Stephen Mallan helped St Mirren to survival. Pic: SNS/Bill Murray

Mallan has signed a three-year deal with the Yorkshire side with St Mirren reportedly netting around £200,000 plus percentage of any future transfer fee.

He told Barnsley Player HD: “I am very excited to take the next step in my career. Something I always wanted to do was come down to England to try and make myself better. I definitely feel like Barnsley was the right choice to make so I am excited to get working with all the other boys. I have seen Barnsley come up from League One and finish 14th, which is an amazing achievement, so I am looking forward to getting started and hopefully adding to the squad.

“I am very impressed with the set-up here as well. Compared to the stadia I have played at in Scotland, this is massive. I’ve had a good look around Barnsley as well, it seems a great town and I am now excited to come down and work here.”

The 21-year-old was integral to the club’s survival in the second tier, putting together a sensational run of form in the closing months of the season, netting seven times and assisting a further nine in the final nine games.

His new team finished 14th in the English second tier and are renowned for developing young talent in recent years, with Manchester City centre-back John Stones among their alumni.

Paul Heckingbottom, Barnsley manager, said: “I am really pleased that Stevie can see his future at Oakwell. He has had some real admirers looking at him which we have managed to fight off and bring him here. He’s a young, stylish midfielder who loves to pop up and get a goal so I think the fans will be excited to watch him.

“He has really bought into what we want to do here and has seen the rise that the Club has been on recently, so as soon as the opportunity came, he has jumped at it.

“I said from the start that we wanted to get our business done early, so I am really pleased that the Club has moved quickly and made this deal happen. We’ve just finished a strong season back in the Championship and we are looking to build on this now, which I think helped Stevie in his decision to join us.”

A youth academy graduate, he made his Saints against Hamilton Academical in November 2014, scoring his first with a majestic solo effort against Dundee the following month. He amassed 112 appearances for the Buddies scoring 29 times.

Tony Fitzpatrick, St Mirren chief executive, told the club’s official website: “I understand supporters will be sad to see Stevie go but we feel it is the right time. Stevie has played over 100 games for the club and deserves a chance to prove himself down in England.

“Without going into the specifics of the deal, with a year left on his contract, it’s a good offer for the club and one we will hopefully benefit from a few years down the line also.”