Danish centre half felt he learnt plenty during third tier campaign
Although he hadn’t expected to play in League One last season, Town defender Mads Andersen didn’t regret having to drop down into the third tier of English football for 12 months, after it earned him a move to the Premier League Hatters recently.
The 25-year-old signed for Barnsley in June 2019 from Danish side AC Horsens, spending three years at Oakwell, as the club spectacularly avoided relegation in their first term by winning at Brentford on the final day, and then reached the play-offs the following season, beaten 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals by Swansea City.
However, they struggled for the majority of the 2021-22 campaign, as finishing rock bottom, the Tykes were relegated into League One.
Although Andersen could well have left last summer, after eventually opting to stay put, both he and the club had a fine season, Barnsley reaching the play-off final at Wembley, only to lose 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in stoppage time.
The former Denmark U19 international caught the eye himself though throughout, making 47 appearances as he was named in the League One Team of the Season, also winning the club’s Player of the Year award as well.
Speaking about his time in the third tier, he said: “It was a good season for me, a tough season as well.
“I wasn’t expecting to play League One, but now when I look back at it, I’ve learned so much in League One and I would never take that year away from anything.
“That was perfect for me and then I’m just happy to get these rewards, it’s just something on top of the iceberg, so I was very happy with that.”
Discussing how close he came to moving away from Yorkshire, he added: “I had some talks with the CEO of Barnsley and the manager (Michael Duff) at that time, and I believed in what they wanted to do.
“After three good seasons in the Championship, anything can happen, but my decision was to stay at Barnsley and try to get promoted.
“It didn’t happen in the end, we were so close, but I’ve learned so much that year from the gaffer, and just being around the players as well, so I’m very happy I did it.”
