Barnsley sign Eoghan O'Connell

O’Connell left Wrexham in autumn by mutual consent but couldn’t sign for anyone until January.  

He made two appearances for Wrexham earlier this season in the EFL Cup. 

The 30-year-old defender began his career at Celtic and had loan spells at Oldham Athletic, Cork City and Walsall before moving permanently to Bury where he made 52 appearances in total and scored three goals. 

O’Connell then moved to Rochdale where he made 131 appearances in all competitions. 

The Irishman then moved to Charlton Athletic in League One in 2022/23 making 22 appearances in total, before then moving to Wrexham mid-season in the National League and helped them get promoted. 

He then helped Wrexham with another two promotions in two seasons as they reached the Championship. 

He made 39 appearances in League One last season and was a key part of the divisions second best defence that conceded just 34 goals as The Red Dragons kept 24 clean sheets which was the most in the division. 

Impressively, O’Connell was named in the EFL Sky Bet League One Team of the Year for the 2024/2025 season. 

Head Coach Conor Hourihane expressed his excitement about the signing, “We’re excited to welcome Eoghan to Oakwell. He brings real leadership, solidity, and football intelligence to our backline. His career speaks volumes—with nearly 300 league appearances and a promotion-winner, he’s exactly the kind of experienced defender we need. Eoghan fits our system and is a fantastic addition on and off the pitch.” 

Having been described as no nonsense experienced centre-back, this is exactly the type of signing Barnsley needed to make and additionally the Irishman can play against Liverpool at Anfield. 

This is a fantastic first signing for Barnsley in the January window and hopefully there will be more additions to follow in the coming weeks.