Rankin in on loan

Rankin's position at Oakwell is now far from clear with Boulding, joining fellow recent recruits Mark Stallard and Daniel Nardiello, ahead of the former Arsenal trainee in the pecking order.

With Barnsley keen to complete the signing of Boulding, it's likely that Rankin was thrown into the deal as a 'sweetener'.

Rankin is described as a quick and tricky forward who scores his goals in clusters.

He failed to make the grade at Highbury but was signed for £1.3million by Bradford in 1998. His time at Valley Parade was unsuccessful and he was moved onto Oakwell two-and-a-half years later for £350,000.

His time with the Tykes has stopped and stuttered although this season he's found he has been a regular with 24 first team apperances, netting six goals in the process.

The 25-year-old is likely to partner fellow loan striker Lee Thorpe in attack on Saturday against Brighton.