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Barnsley: George Miller joins Scunthorpe on loan
Barnsley striker George Miller has today completed a season-long loan move to Scunthorpe in League Two.
The Yorkshire Post reported that the 21-year-old will spend the remainder of the 2019/20 on loan at Glanford Park, his second time going out on loan from Barnsley after a spell at Bradford last season.
According to the Yorkshire Post, the Reds’ decision to allow the young striker to leave on loan again has been taken with a view to accelerating his development.
Miller was signed by Barnsley in January of this year but was immediately loaned to Bradford for the rest of the 2018/19 season, as reported by the Yorkshire Post.
He has only made two appearances for the Reds so far, coming on as a substitute in games against Fulham and Carlisle earlier this month but playing a total of just 16 minutes.
Prior to joining Barnsley, he had been on loan at Bradford from Middlesbrough and scored just three goals in 39 League One appearances last season, although his record in all competitions for 2018/19 was six goals and seven assists in 45 games, an average of one goal per 7.5 games and an assist every 6.43 games.
That figure was well below the 16 goals in 31 League One games posted by Cauley Woodrow for the Reds last season, with the 24-year-old scoring 19 times in 36 appearances in all competitions, a ratio of one every 1.89 games. He has scored once in four games so far this term.
Mamadou Thiam scored seven goals and supplied eight assists in 52 games for Barnsley last season, his averages of a goal per 7.43 games and an assist every 6.5 games broadly similar to Miller’s.
Summer signing Conor Chaplin, who found the net against Charlton last weekend, scored eight times in 31 League One games for Coventry in 2018/19, an average of one every 3.87 matches.
Patrick Schmidt, another off-season addition to Daniel Stendel’s striking options, netted eight times in 27 games in the Austrian Bundesliga last season, averaging one every 3.37 matches, but has only made one substitute appearance for Barnsley so far.
Chaplin and Thiam have played in all five of Barnsley’s matches so far this season, with Woodrow appearing in four, which indicates that these are Stendel’s three preferred options in attack.
With all three boasting better goal ratios in League One last term than Miller, and Schmidt having a superior goal return from the Austrian top flight, it seems unsurprising that the 21-year-old has been allowed to go out on loan, as he would likely have continued to struggle for game-time at Oakwell.
Stendel is adequately covered in attack at the moment and Miller will ideally return from Scunthorpe with plenty of minutes and an improved goal record, especially as he’s dropping two divisions. The young striker must seize his chance at Glanford Park to show Barnsley that he can make it at Championship level.
Barnsley fans, do you agree with the decision to loan out Miller for the season? Let us know your views by commenting below!
