On-loan Barnsley keeper Harry Isted defies doubters as fans demand permanent deal
By George Litchfield
February 27, 2023

Barnsley fans took to social media over the weekend to give praise to on loan-keeper Harry Isted following the 4-1 win over Derby County. 

There was initially a lot of confusion over Isted’s loan signing on deadline day, when he was part of a deal that involved the permanent transfer of backup keeper Jack Walton to Luton Town. 

But with four wins from four appearances and two clean sheets, the player of the match is already a popular figure with The Tykes, leading to many calling for the deal to last longer than the end of the season. 

Isted has made an grand impression after only having been at the club for a month, and stats show that he has conceded less goals overall than he should have in the four games he has played.

This is based on the Expected Goals on Target model, which measures the quality of a shot on target and how likely it is to result in a goal.

When looking at it from a game to game perspective, the keeper performed pretty much as expected against Derby and Port Vale. However the xGOT model is not always a perfect indicator, as Barnsley fans will likely be quick to point out.

The 25-year old’s contract expires in the summer according to Transfermrket, and if he can continue to either match or outperform his xGOT then it would be a no-brainer for Michael Duff to take the Luton keeper on a free.