A look at Barnsley`s new striker

John McAtee made himself an instant hero with the travelling Barnsley fans at Wigan on Saturday scoring after coming off the bench to seal the Tykes 2-0 win at the DW Stadium.

Supporters sung a new song for their new on loan striker as they poured out of the ground in jubilant mood. “Ole, Ole. Ole, Ole, McAtee, tee tee” rang around the away end as the Barnsley players acknowledge the support from stands.

But who is John McAtee? We are Luton Town Podcast kindly gave us their input into McAtee and what Barnsley can expect from the 24 year old.

John McAtee joined Barnsley on loan from Luton Town earlier this week but let’s look at what McAtee has done in his career so far and what he could bring to this Barnsley side.

McAtee began his career at Shrewsbury Town in 2017 but was loaned out to numerous non-league clubs over the next few years. He had stints at Halesowen Town, AFC Telford United, Ashton United and Curzon Ashton. He primarily played at step two of non-league in this time.

During his spells in non-league, he scored seven goals in non-league before joining Scunthorpe United on a permanent deal in 2019. It was at Scunthorpe where McAtee began to get regular first team football in the EFL.

He scored his first goal for the Iron in a 2-2 draw with Bradford City. He scored winning goals against Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers before the 19/20 season ended abruptly due to the pandemic.

In the 20/21 season, McAtee made thirty appearances for Scunthorpe and scored one goal as the Iron survived relegation from League Two by three points. McAtee’s future club, Grimsby Town, were relegated to the National League.

In the summer of 2021, McAtee joined Scunthorpe’s biggest rivals, Grimsby Town on a permanent deal. This was the third time he would play under Paul Hurst in his career. It was at Grimsby where he began to make a real name for himself.

McAtee played a key role in Grimsby’s return to the football league. He played thirty-nine times and scored sixteen goals as the Mariners finished sixth in the National League. They went on to win the play-offs after beating Notts County, Wrexham, and Solihull Moors. McAtee scored against Wrexham and Solihull Moors. He bagged the equaliser in the final against Solihull.

Due to his performances, he earned a move to Championship club, Luton Town. Shortly after joining, he rejoined the Mariners on loan for the 22/23 season. This season didn’t go as well as McAtee scoring wise as injuries halted his playing time. He made twenty-six appearances and scored four goals as Grimsby finished a comfortable eleventh place.

After returning to newly promoted Luton Town, he was an unused substitute for Luton’s opening day loss to Brighton & Hove Albion. Shortly after, he was loaned out to Barnsley for the season.

As we know, McAtee got off to a great start at Barnsley as he scored in a 0-2 win over Wigan Athletic on his debut. But he has brought a much-needed attacking threat to Barnsley.

He has multiple potential strike partners such as Devante Cole, Max Watters, Andy Dallas, and Aaron Leya Iseka. McAtee brings an element of quality and calm in important times in a game as we saw with his goal against Wigan.

A great addition for the Tykes.