ST MIRREN look set to lose talented midfielder Stephen Mallan to Barnsley. The English Championship were scuppered in their attempts to sign the 21 year-old in the January window but have returned with a bid of around £200,000 with add-ons that looks set to be accepted by the Paisley board, after an initial offer of £175,000 was rejected.

Mallan, a St Mirren academy graduate, has been one of the stand-outs in the Scottish Championship this season, scoring 12 goals including a hat-trick against Raith Rovers that helped spare the Paisley side from relegation. His move, should the formalities be completed later in the week, will come as a blow to manager Jack Ross who has already outlined his determination to make a push for promotion next season.

Chairman Gordon Scott admitted it would be a blow to lose Mallan, who has just one year left on his contract and wasn’t expected to sign a new one, but revealed the midfielder would go with the club’s blessing. “I’d like to see him stay but I think Stevie has earned the right to make his own decision,” he said prior to the bid being received. “He’s given so much to the club and played a massive part in us staying up. We’d love him to stay for another year but if he decides to go and someone comes in with an offer then he will leave with our best wishes. And I think every supporter would feel the same.”