Barnsley manager Conor Hourihane has explained his decision to hand Kelechi Nwakali his long-awaited season debut in Tuesday night's 1-0 defeat to Stevenage FC at the Lamex Stadium.

The Nigerian midfielder, who joined the club in the summer of 2024, had been sidelined throughout the campaign after failed transfer moves in both the summer and winter windows left him out of the manager's plans.

Nwakali eventually made his first appearance for the Tykes as a 72nd-minute substitute, offering a glimpse of his quality despite limited match fitness.

Speaking after the game, Hourihane revealed that the decision was part of a broader agreement between himself and the club to assess fringe players in the closing stages of the season, particularly with changes expected ahead of the next campaign.

"It's only right for everyone now to look forward onto the new season, onto the new manager, whatever that's going to look like," he said via The Yorkshire Post.

"So I think it's only right really that, in the discussions between myself and the club, we were all in agreement that for the last four games, could we look further afield and that was part of the negotiation.

"Clearly, they're going to be a little bit behind on that (match fitness). And that's going to be frustrating for them.  I thought the both of them weren't miles away from the pace of the game. They were not out of sorts, they looked no different than the rest."

Nwakali, who has four caps for Nigeria, has just one year remaining on his contract at Oakwell.

With only a handful of matches left this season, the 27-year-old will be eager to build match sharpness and make a strong impression as he seeks to revive his career ahead of the summer transfer window.

Adeyemi Adewale