So…. have you all heard of Daryl Dike yet?
We’re kidding, of course; The USMNT striker is starring at Barnsley, on loan from Orlando City, and may well end up being responsible for boosting the club into the Premier League.
Dike, still 20 until June 3, scored his ninth Tykes goal and it was his fanciest yet, the big man getting low to snap an overhead kick home in a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town on Wednesday.
Those nine goals have come in 1,074 minutes of Football League Championship action, good for one every 119 minutes.
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Barnsley is 7-0 when he scored and has only lost two league games during his loan, drawing one and winning 12.
The Tykes are in the final playoff spot with three matches left and a six-point cushion on seventh. It’s reasonable to think they could finish third or fourth and have better seeding for a playoff semifinal match versus Bournemouth, Swansea City, or Brentford. They play Rotherham United (22nd place), Preston North End (14th), and already-promoted Norwich City (1st) to finish the season.
A halftime sub at The John Smith’s Stadium, Dike adjusts to a bounding ball and quickly plucks it out of the air just 20 minutes into his shift.
Barnsley claims it has the first right to sign Dike, amid reported Premier League interest, and that the fee is nowhere near the $20 million whispered this side of the pound.
And the idea of that fee being that high, considering it was agreed before Dike arrived and lit the Championship on fire, is kinda remarkable.
Consider his path to England:
- 2018 and 2019: 15 goals, nine assists in 2,650 college minutes for Virginia
- 2020: Eight goals, three assists in 1,444 minutes for Orlando City
- 2021: Nine goals in 1,105 minutes for Barnsley
It seems almost certain that Dike will arrive in Europe, whether at Barnsley in the Premier League or Championship.
Might the Tykes buy him for the discount fee and quickly move him somewhere else, somewhat like Alexander Sorloth’s move from Crystal Palace to RB Leipzig via Trabzonspor? Stay tuned.
